If the anti conceptual stubbornness were not so serious it would be amusing, in fact it would be entertaining to encourage such behaviour. There is nothing more amusing than to watch non productive behaviour from the political class wasting time on nuance and formality, demonstrating procedural courage and standing up to the forces of fashionable wrong doing while the rest of us toil, and sweat, and compete in the global marketplace, assuring that brave class of politics that we their subjects will assure them a paycheck, and a seat at the table of power. That amusement however lasts only so long as we the hard working subjects are assured a great deal of prosperity in the process, and that is why the proverbial fat lady has been walking up to and demanding a place at the stage. She has had many years to warm up, and the vocal chords are primed. The City of Detroit, whether the council, and it's corporate lawyers want to admit it or not is broke. Flat out, face down cotton pickin broke. There is no way around it, and only the corporate council herself believes the city is owned money by the State of Michigan. No one else can find a bill, or an invoice for " services rendered".
How any elected official can drive down Grand River say from Lahser Road and 7 mile towards downtown, or travel Gratiot Ave. from Roseville and not be shocked by what they see, how any sitting Governor traveling down these same roads would not be immediate to declare that the National Guard needs to be put out on the streets and order restored is beyond comprehension. We are not talking about a downturn in the economy, or slightly depressed neighborhoods due to economic circumstances, we are talking about absolute destruction, and devastation. A kind of devastation that no previous generation of American has ever entertained to allow to exist, is now the norm for the city of Detroit, with those in power elected to protect the citizens fighting turf wars, and wasting valuable scarce resources trying to show how they are still in charge and calling the shots. Murder and destruction are ancillary to the political class right now, what is important is maintaining power at all costs. Local power, and only local power. No outsider dare intervene in local decision making, or inability to make a decision. If we decide to take a vote, in order to take a vote, well then by golly you stand by and watch us do that, because it's in our power to do just that !
There is an adage: he who has the gold makes the rules. There is some pretty compelling reasons that adage is true. We may not like it, we may want to fight it, we may even from time to time try to put our heads in the sand and try to ignore it, but try as we all might, the guy that's got all the coins in his pocket, tends to be the one that sets the tone for how things are going to be. It is one of life's little absolutes. Well the city of Detroit ran out of gold a long time ago, and now that it cannot borrow any more, it is no longer in a position to make any rules. It is time for the city to follow the rules. The first rule that it must follow is: you can only spend the money that you have. Start there, and the rest will begin to fall in place. Seeing that the current class of politicians don't want to follow that rule; reality needs to step in and force them. No one pays them any more, no one let's them borrow any more. Broke. Flat out, nothing in the pockets, broke. Declare bankruptcy, end all current contracts, dissolve the council, appoint a financial manager, and start all over again. The priorities should be police, fire, water, and garbage. All else is negotiable. Seeing that the police do not have a contract, and are afraid they will not get paid, the Governor should call in the National Guard to protect the citizens of the city, and maintain the fire houses. Let those entities sort out a salary the city can afford on today's budgeting, and let the free market perform it's magic.
But before all of that can happen, the proverbial lady, with all her grace and glory needs to take center stage, grab the microphone, and just sing.
