Is Detroit fixable? How would you fix it?

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Snarky sarcasm aside, please... if you had free range as an emergency budget manager of the city of Detroit, what would you do to balance its budget and revitalize the city?

I'd try to work with state and federal officials to work on a buy-out program for people living in blighted areas of the city.. especially those with very low population density.  Tear down the homes and rip up the streets and let those areas revert to forest/urban prairie.

I'd focus resources on more vibrant areas of the city in order to keep those people there.  I'd make major staffing cuts to all departments save fire and police.  I'd beg the state or feds for some extra money to increase police presence and visibility.

I'd focus development in and around downtown and along main thoroughfares exclusively, encouraging mixed income neighborhoods with some subsidized housing and neighborhood charter schools, bypassing the local public schools in those areas completely.  I'd allow the teachers union to set up charter schools of their own.  This is a good idea because it preserves the union while making the union accountable to the kids/families.  If they aren't doing a good job, the parent can send their children to another non-union charter school.

I'd actively court the auto makers for private funding for some infrastructure within the city.

The problem now is that resources are spread way too thin in Detroit.  The city is only about 40-45% of its peak population.  Blighted areas need to be actively abandoned and completely torn up.  Then when things are in better condition from a budgetary perspective and we've stemmed the gushing blood, we can work on redeveloping those areas from scratch.

But the number one priority needs to be basic infrastructure and police.  If garbage collection only comes around once a week or even less, that's better than cutting police officers.  Also, invest in some damn street lights.  Light that city up.  Nothing reduces crime like naked visibility.

[Ban my account ffs!]

Note to forum newcomers:  Mr. Moderate's habit of huffing his own farts has jilted his politics noticeably to the right.  He should not be taken seriously on any of the following subjects:

1.  Politics
2.  Breasts
3.  Choice of kitchen appliance brands.

[Ban my account ffs!]

I do think just starting over might be better at this point.  Keep some of the historic downtown buildings... And start by dismantling the rennaisance center.  Nobody needs a ginormous round grain elevator representing American automobility.

But communities should be preserved so neighborhoods still,function even in new housing somewhere else inthe city.

[Ban my account ffs!]

One of the things they need to do first is repeal Michigan's "right-to-work" law.

care to explain your reasoning for us non-leftists?

"Right-to-Work" laws are derided by unions as "Right-to-Work-for-much-less", They are intended to eviscerate the power of unions to collect union dues that allow one of the best protections that workers have against management: collective bargaining.

Big Business would prefer to negotiate 'individually with workers on their merits', but that in practice means seeking the bargaining weakness of the employee. When one considers that large employers can often spy upon workers to see how they live and find out what is going on in personal lives, such implies that a husband whose wife just had a baby may be told:

"Congratulations on the baby! Of course, now that you have the baby you might recognize the merit of taking a voluntary pay cut so that your job can be more secure".     

If that ever happened one would need a union.

While that's nice, it still doesn't explain why Band3t posited an end to Right-to-work as a solution to Detroit's problems

It wouldn't solve Detroit's problems.

Bandit just wants to repeal that law.