Reply #48: Grew up in Detroit in the 50's. Good education, prosperous economy. [View All]

[philly_bob]

Two plausible explanations for decline:

(1) the transportation and design strategy of the car companies -- the "car guys" who killed electric and public transit, ignored oil situation

(2) the post-Reagan nationwide decline of unions

I tend to think it's the second explanation. When you have powerful unions, the city services (libraries, rec centers, sanitation, etc.) work well, there are good public schools all the way to University, there's a check-and-balance on Wall Street and bosses' power, there's a powerful interest group supporting good government and regulation.

Sure, sometimes unions can get too powerful and corrupt (see 60's Teamsters), but it would take ten years of union victories to undo the post-Reagan damage to unions.

Anyway, here's to the East Side Detroit of my childhood. My parents were both schoolteachers (in the union). Our next door neighbor worked on the assembly line, and when there were layoffs he'd stay home and tinker with his boat. The rich and the poor were abstractions; everybody was in a great middle (or working) class.

I was just in Detroit this summer. It's grim -- but there's a lot going on there musically and culturally.