How Detroit is being stolen
I want to thank Lance Selfa for his excellent report on the bankruptcy crisis facing Detroit ("The strangling of Detroit"
. Needless to say, for those of us on the ground, this has been a heated topic of discussion. Lance's article is a useful aide in moving that discussion forward.
I'm writing to add some brief details to the picture Lance has already painted and raise some of the issues that have so far missed the coverage of the bankruptcy. Of course, this subject is far bigger than can adequately be covered by any one article or letter (which is partly the cause for the lateness of this letter).
For now, the bankruptcy has been stalled in legal battles. This is a good thing, but it's far from being enough. It's clear that Michigan's ruling class wants this bankruptcy to go through and has already made it clear that it has little regard for democratic procedures.
The emergency manager law that gives Kevyn Orr, Detroit's de facto dictator, the power to file for bankruptcy was already overturned by a wide majority of Michigan's voters last November. Rather than respect basic democratic principles, however, Michigan's legislature simply signed it back into law. Even partners of Kevyn Orr's law firm, Jones Day, acknowledged that the appointment of an emergency manager to oversee Detroit "echoes...a fascist takeover of local government."
More at http://socialistworker.org/2013/08/20/how-detroit-is-being-stolen .
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