For the last 18 months, Detroit has been overseen by an emergency
manager, Kevyn D. Orr. Mr. Orr, a lawyer from Maryland, was brought in by
Governor Snyder to reconstruct Detroit’s financial situation. With the approval
of Governor Snyder, Mr. Orr prepared the official documents that declared
Detroit’s bankruptcy last June.
As of yesterday, Detroit’s mayor and City Council regained
most of their political power. In relinquishing most of his authority back to
Detroit’s leaders, Mr. Orr will continue to have authority on all issues
related to the bankruptcy. Currently, the city is waiting for a decision from a
federal bankruptcy judge about Detroit’s plan to erase more than $7 billion in
debt and invest in $1.5 billion in improvements.
Ultimately, does having Detroit’s leaders regain power bring
optimism for Detroit’s future?
How do you think the federal bankruptcy judge will act (for
or against Detroit’s plan)?
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/26/us/detroits-leaders-regain-some-power.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C%7B%222%22%3A%22RI%3A13%22%7D
I take the position that events over the past year or so have been relatively positive for Detroit. The politics of Detroit were broken and the city would never have been able to prune back its excesses and focus on basics like cops and streetlights without bypassing the city council. The water shutoffs are regrettable, but the status quo is unsustainable. Hopefully the bankruptcy will go through and now that the city's political core is more reenergized, they can replace the most corrupt and inefficient city council members with people a little more forward looking. I think 20 years from now, Detroit will be a better city than it is today, and that's not something that was clear five years ago and was certainly not true 20 years ago.
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