DETROIT WITHOUT WATER COMMENT: THIS IS A DRAFT IN PROGRESS... LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. Someone asked me concerning the water shut off in Detroit-- How can this be happening? Well, I had to think about this. I had to think not so much because it isnt clear in my mind what is happening. I just dont know how to explain it to anyone living outside Michigan in a more sane, less corrupt, place. The reason the people of Detroit are without water is because a batch of thugs invaded the Republican and Tea Parties of Michigan and caused some stupid an unsuspecting people to be elected to office. These people were bankrolled by billions in undisclosed funds. Yet, the names of Koch, DeVoss, Engler and other billionaires kept surfacing. Billions were spent to overwhelm voters with slick ads and parties received free support and educational materials that were basically indoctrination. Once in office, these elected officials wasted no time in carrying out the Koch agenda through their agent ALEC. Legislations was quickly passed and signed by the governor that basically stripped Michigan citizens (over 51% of the African American population living in Michigan) of their right to a local government. 1. The Emergency Manager law was passed so the governor could appoint an emergency manager to replace local school boards, mayors, and city councils. Over the objections of these elected officials, zoning ordinances could be changed, public property sold to developers for a fraction of its cost, and if necessary condemnation proceedings could be used to force private owners. (Possibly the clearest example is the sale of the Silverdome for $500,000 over objections of the Pontiac council just 18 months after an insurance company offered $11M for it. This law also gave the Emergency Manger of Detroit the ability to re-calculate future pension obligations throwing out the formula that had been used for years and was the same as that used for state pension funding purposes. This immediately increased the amount of unfunded pension obligations.) And, importantly, this law gives the emergency manager the ability to contract with private firms for the provision of public services, like WATER. The local government is no longer responsible for any oversight in the provision of the service. They are saddled with a contract committing them to pay a fee to a private for-profit concern for the provision of a public service, (like water, sewer, garbage, and other vital concerns). (Incidentally, right after the sale of the Silverdome, the emergency manager quit his job and went to work for the buyer. I suppose the same could happen in the case of some big municipal contract for the provision of some public service.) This emergency manager law also gave the governor the ability to seize control of school districts, eliminating any voice that parents and students might have had in determining what curriculum should be taught. We are seeing a lot of computerized curriculum being pushed on students that offers little opportunity for students to truly succeed in something other than being an employee for some corporation, constantly struggling to survive on what is now the earnings of most middle-class citizens. (The companies selling the computer programs to the districts and state are making a profit.) There is a NERD Fund which pays for the condo of Detroits emergency manager. The donors to the NERD fund are not disclosed. The NERD fund was also paying the salary of a person who sat in an office next to the governors office who advised the governor on matters. The idea is that the NERD fund saves taxpayers money. This emergency manager law, which allows the governor to hand-pick which local government or school district it will seize under terribly vague criteria, was repealed by the citizens of Michigan through referendum. In less than a month, the law was re-enacted with only a few words changed and it was business as usual. 2. Laws were enacted to restrict the ability of local governments to pass zoning laws that would limit the ability of oil and gas companies, (and mining operations), to drill and excavate. Basically, an oil or gas company can now drill over the objections of a local government if it can show no very serious consequences would result. Because so little is known concerning fracking operations, (the deep-shale process is relatively new and the oil and gas companies do not have to disclose what they are doing or pumping into the ground by law), it is difficult to prove anything about their operations and this means that local governments (and the communities they represent) ultimately bear the risk of fracking operations. 3. Laws were passed to increase taxes on seniors and the poor in order to raise some $156 billion to give to businesses. Oh, yes, they SAID it was to promote business in the state. But, it basically took away the spending power of a large portion of the middle-class and provided subsidies to businesses that did little for the economy of Michigan. 4. Right-to-work legislation was passed, (among other reasons), to reduce the ability of teachers to oppose curriculum changes, (the parents and students were pretty much out of the picture at this point). How did Detroit get to where it couldnt provide water to its citizens? The simple answer is that Michigan has been hemorrhaging money into the pockets of a few at the expense of its poor and middle-class. Changes to our tax system favor it. Subsidies favor it. Changes to our educational system favor it. Zoning laws favor it. The emergency manager law favors it. Chances are water could be provided to our citizens. Trouble is, that funnel of money into the pockets of a few might suffer a bit. What gets me the most though is the apathy on the part of the citizens of this nation towards what is happening in Detroit. It was Canadian citizens who reported the failure to provide water to Detroit citizens to the UN as a violation of basic human rights., It may be too late for Detroit I hope not. But, all I can say to those of you who are so apathetic to its fate is... WHO DO YOU THINK IS NEXT?
Posted on: Sun, 13 Jul 2014 18:30:24 +0000
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