Detroit is about to run out of cash.

It seems some of you find joy in the failings of this American city. I think its just sad.

The News reviewed more than 200,000 pages of tax documents and found that 47 percent of the city's taxable parcels are delinquent on their 2011 bills.
...
Delinquency is so pervasive that 77 blocks had only one owner who paid taxes last year, The News found. Many of those who don't pay question why they should in a city that struggles to light its streets or keep police on them.

"Why pay taxes?" asked Fred Phillips, who owes more than $2,600 on his home on an east-side block where five owners paid 2011 taxes. "Why should I send them taxes when they aren't supplying services? It is sickening. … Every time I see the tax bill come, I think about the times we called and nobody came."
...
Wesley paid $810 last year for her snug home near Chalmers. She was the only resident on her 32-parcel block who paid.

"It makes me not want to pay," said Wesley, 85, who would move from her home of more than 20 years if she could afford it. "If nobody else is paying, why should I?"

It seems some of you find joy in the failings of this American city. I think its just sad.

It seems some of you find joy in the failings of this American city. I think its just sad.

There is no joy in failure, but there IS joy in the lessons LEARNED from failure.

If nothing else, other cities and their citizens may just possibly learn *something* from Detroit's screw ups and change their ways before they get in the same situation.

Detroit didnt kill itself off due to a natural disaster or some unforeseen circumstances, anybody with half a brain could see what was happening, just that the people in power and the citizens that kept voting them in, were almost brainless (or brilliant in figuring out ways to line their pockets at everybody else's expense).

It seems some of you find joy in the failings of this American city. I think its just sad.

It seems some of you find joy in the failings of this American city. I think its just sad.

The Detroit city government is weeks away from running out of the cash it needs to operate, according to an initial report from the emergency manager overseeing its finances.

The report from Kevyn Orr, the bankruptcy attorney appointed by the state in March, lays out a bleak financial position for the city.

"The city has effectively exhausted its ability to borrow," he writes in the report, adding that the city "is clearly insolvent." To avoid running out of cash before the end of its fiscal year on June 30, it must "defer payments on its current obligations," including more than $100 million in pension payments that are due.

"No one should underestimate the severity of the financial crisis," Orr said in a statement. "The path Detroit has followed for more than 40 years is unsustainable and only a complete restructuring of the city's finances and operations will allow Detroit to regain its footing."

Detroit is struggling to come up with annual debt payments of about $246 million, which eat up almost 20% of the its general fund budget. Orr says the city needs relief from the money it owes, suggesting that investors holding its debt could end up taking haircuts.

But investors won't be the only ones hit by Orr's efforts to restructure the city's finances. He is considering changes in healthcare coverage for government employees and retirees, as well as in its pension plans. He's also looking at further changes in pay rates and staffing, on top of the layoffs and 10% pay cut that have already been implemented.

There is no joy in failure, but there IS joy in the lessons LEARNED from failure.

If nothing else, other cities and their citizens may just possibly learn *something* from Detroit's screw ups and change their ways before they get in the same situation.

Detroit didnt kill itself off due to a natural disaster or some unforeseen circumstances, anybody with half a brain could see what was happening, just that the people in power and the citizens that kept voting them in, were almost brainless (or brilliant in figuring out ways to line their pockets at everybody else's expense).

Bing's finally leaving the game:

"After a tumultuous four years overseeing a city long riddled with blight, corruption, crime, and historic financial issues, mayor David Bing has had enough, telling a stunned audience at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History Tuesday that he’d leave when his term ends in December."

http://news.yahoo.com/detroit-may...00228.html

"The city’s deficit, said Orr—a bankruptcy expert who represented Chrysler in its 2009 filing—could be as much as $600 million and its long-outstanding debts more than $16 billion. "

$16 billion in debt... that's for the entire state of Michigan and not just Detroit, right? ...oh.