Michigan Sizes Up Taking Over Flint

[Dover]

Source: WSJ

Michigan officials are declaring a financial emergency in Flint, paving the way for a state takeover of the struggling industrial city's finances.

The specter of state control comes as labor talks are going on 70 miles to the south in Detroit, where Mayor Dave Bing has given municipal unions a Nov. 21 deadline to agree to $42 million in concessions or risk the same fate as Flint.

Elected two years ago, Mr. Bing, a Democrat, has tried to exact cost savings from municipal unions and pass his budget through a combative city council. But under a new law championed by Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, an ally of Mr. Bing's, the governor could appoint him as Detroit's emergency manager, giving him broad power to break union contracts and impose spending priorities without council approval.

Three other Michigan cities—Pontiac, Ecorse and Benton Harbor—as well as Detroit's school district are run by emergency managers. Flint, the state's seventh-largest city by population, would be the largest municipality under state control.


Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203537304577028401548108064.html?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_5

[Citizen Worker]

1. We are living through the death throes of democracy.

[Iliyah]

2. Wait until

they take this nationally. The governor and his cronies got some of the MI residents believing that poor people and criminals, ie inmates are the only factors for their state, ie bankruptcy, in other words, send all the poor people and criminals to other states.

[bongbong]

3. Ironic

Micheal Moore got his political start in Flint.

To add insult to injury, these Michigan "takeovers" are just a plot by the Republican governor & his cronies to turn tax dollars over to his rich buddies.

[jwirr]

4. Exactly - privatize everything.

[sarcasmo]

5. A form of crushing the city workers union. Take over and say the city is broke

then privatize jobs, and poof union jobs are going.

[AverageJoe90]

6. It's the Gilded Age all over again. nt

[blue_onyx]

7. Detroit will probably be next

MI made such a big mistake electing Snyder.