by pea-jay » Mon 16 Jul 2007, 04:14:38
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Mircea', 'W')hat happens is people and businesses start fleeing to areas with lower tax rates (not just whites, but blacks also) while simultaneously those who desire freebies start flocking to the city. This starts a downward spiral as the tax base erodes resulting in declining revenues for the city, which then increases taxes further to pay for burgeoning social service budget, accelerating the flight of people and businesses. Unable to raise taxes further, the city then begins cutting non-social services, like the arts, police, fire and safety, recreation and infrastructure maintenance in order pay for the increasing burden on social services which is now fueled by the rapid expansion of HUD Section 8 funded housing created when those who actually worked and paid taxes fled. Crime, prostitution, gambling, drugs, and gang violence become rampant and the city is essentially dead.
This is a simplistic analysis. You've got the downward spiral correct, though the action (taxation, social services) of the city governments usually play no role in initiating this cycle. Big Auto and Big Steel didnt abandon what we now call Rust Belt cities because those jurisdiction raised taxes to provide locally needed or desired services. They left because they could produce cheaper offshore or were buried when an offshore competitor beat them to it or a domestic competitor in a southern or western state with looser labor provisions opened up shop and hired illegal immigrants to do the work. THATS what killed our big industry, not the Nanny-ocracy our Right-wing friends would like us to believe. In today's terms it would be akin to expecting actions by the City of Cupertino or San Jose would drive out firms like Apple because of their personal or property tax rates or social service provisions. That's nonsense of course. Our industrial patterns are set at a national level by government action (or inaction) and our cities are left to deal with the results. Some "get it", most dont.
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')f you wanted to salvage Detroit, and Gary, Indiana and any other urban area with problems, the fastest cheapest solution is to disband the Department of Housing and Urban Development or at least do away with HUD sponsored housing.
But what about the private slum ownership? Many places have no public housing components at all, yet have fearsome slums. Plus the rust belt has tons of abandoned (private) housing and commercial slums that quickly get taken over by the criminal elements.
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'N')othing will destroy a city or section of town faster than HUD housing. Dismantle the program and I guarantee you'll see movement and lots of it. Half of Detroit would be emptied out in 6 months or less.