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Name:	lotowner -	Reply
Subject:	Would You Accept This Offer?
Date:	2/8/2011 5:45:30 AM

Mayor Pushing Police To Live In Detroit

DETROIT (WWJ) - These brave women and men already work in the city of Detroit — and now, Mayor Dave Bing wants police officers to live in the city as well.

Bing has been vocal about his desire to get police officers to move back into the city, and now he’s taking action by announcing a new incentive plan to get them to live where they work.

Currently, 53 percent of Detroit Police officers commute to work from the suburbs, and Bing says the number is even higher for firefighters.

As part of a pilot program called “Project 14? Detroit cops and firefighters who live in the suburbs will be offered renovated homes in the city for as little as $1,000.

Mayor Bing said this is one step in a plan to revitalize Detroit.

“Project 14 is one approach that my administration is deploying to take two challenges facing Detroit — public safety and vacant homes — and turn them into an opportunity for neighborhood revitalization,” Mayor Bing said.

“There are steps that we can and must take today to improve the quality of life for our citizens. That’s why I am announcing Project 14 — an initiative designed to encourage Detroit Police officers to live in the communities in which they serve,” Bing said.

The project is targeting homes in Detroit’s Boston-Edison and East English Village communities. Bing says funding for the project will come from neighborhood stabilization funding, HUD and partnerships with local banks and credit unions. No tax dollars will be spent.

In 1999, the state legislature revoked a controversial rule that required Detroit police officers to live in the city.

A few comments from readers of this article

1. Why bother trying to ‘revitalize Detroit’ ? The only solution is to raze the entire city, and then let developers reclaim the land at the pace that it will actually be used.

The suburbs of Detroit are well-functioning, pleasant places to live. But Detroit itself is a decayed, crumbling, hollowed-out war zone. The resulting blight pushes sane people out, rather than inviting them in.

No amount of tax dollars or subsidy can save Detroit from itself.

2. And keep voting in those who are responsible for this mess – the Democrat party. What does it say about people when year after year they continue to vote in those who led to what happened in Detroit? It was Democrats guys – they fleeced you, ignored you, stole from you, then blamed it on racism. They took you from the first

Name:	Talullahhound -	Reply
Subject:	Would You Accept This Offer?
Date:	2/8/2011 9:03:04 AM

This isn't the first city to offer this kind of program to bring its police, fire fighter and teachers. I don't see anything wrong with it. It's good a good opportunity for the police that wish to own a home, and a good opportunity for the city.

Name:	roswellric -	Reply
Subject:	Would You Accept This Offer?
Date:	2/8/2011 9:33:24 AM

Only if it came complete with barbed wire and a machine gun nest.

Name:	lotowner -	Reply
Subject:	Would You Accept This Offer?
Date:	2/8/2011 9:56:36 AM

When are you moving?

Name:	Talullahhound -	Reply
Subject:	Would You Accept This Offer?
Date:	2/8/2011 3:32:47 PM

If I was working for the city of Detroit, I'd accept the offer. But, I am retired and live on Lake Martin so I don't think I'm eligible.

Name:	lotowner -	Reply
Subject:	Would You Accept This Offer?
Date:	2/8/2011 9:00:52 PM

Nice answer but there is no way you would move your family to this environment. That's why people moved to the suburbs. Fess up and admit that few members of the police and fire departments are this dumb.

Name:	Talullahhound -	Reply
Subject:	Would You Accept This Offer?
Date:	2/9/2011 10:36:08 AM

I think some people with families might be reluctant to take this offer, but what about those that are single? This might appeal to those that would like to help rebuild their city. If you grew up in Detroit, and you loved the city enough to want to serve it, you might see this as a good deal. You know, for years people have moved into marginal edges of a neighborhood and turned a neighborhood around. It's called Urban Renewal. It's a risk, but a lot of neighborhoods have been turned around. Do you think that people should just give up and let the criminals take over the city?

Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	Would You Accept This Offer?
Date:	2/9/2011 5:32:51 PM

Ah Detroit, yet another fine example of what you get with decades of a Democrat-run city government. Some statistics that will make you want to take the mayor up on his generous offer.......or not.....

Median Family Income: $46K/year
Annual Job Growth 2000-2009: -12.4%
Murder Rate Higher than Iraq and one of the worst in the U.S.
Unemployment Rate: Anywhere from 30% to 50% depending on who you believe
Detroit city school system: Consistently ranked as one of the worst in the country

To me it sounds like the police officers and firefighters have made a very rational decision to live in the burbs. Will they move in for a free house? I seriously doubt many will want to place themselves and their families at great risk for that one reason. Now maybe if the mayor will give them a house like he lives in, provide a car and police protection for their family, etc. Its got to be bad enough to work there.

Name:	Talullahhound -	Reply
Subject:	If you are going to work for the City
Date:	2/9/2011 7:38:22 PM

Then why should you be unwilling to live there? If they find it so repulsive and dangerous, then they should go work where they live. In my view, this is part of the problem -- that people think it is fine to take, but when asked to give back, they think they shouldn't have to. Instead of being part of a solution, they walk away. I think anyone that refuses to live in Detroit, when they work in Detroit, should be fired. I'm not a huge fan of Detroit, I've been there a number of times. It's not just a democratic government -- it's no different than a lot of other major cities. It's hard times in the cities, because the middle class people moved out instead of taking a stand. I don't admire that kind of thinking.

Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	If you are going to work for the City
Date:	2/9/2011 8:24:11 PM

Hound, if you look at the worst cities in this country you will see they are and have for a long time been dominated by Democrats....thats a fact. So what you are saying is that it is their duty to take their kids out of safe neighborhoods with good schools and put their lives and futures in jeopardy and for what? To ignore the malfeasance of the city government and their horrendous, destructive decisions? I say forget that. Let them clean their own house and give people a real reason to move back. And don't say it can't be done. Guiliani did it in NYC and if it can be done there after years of Democrat incompetence it can be done anywhere. And they will move back if it happens.

Talk about a misguided sense of obligation. Your first obligation is to your family, period. Not to prop uip some 3rd rate city government....

Name:	Talullahhound -	Reply
Subject:	Excuse me?
Date:	2/9/2011 11:27:50 PM

I think it's pretty disingenuous to blame all of the problems of the cities on a Democratic government. You are smart enough to know that the problems are a lot more multi-faceted than just who is running the government. It never fails to amaze me that you can bury your head in the sand and mouth platitudes when it suits your purpose. But, I stand on my position. Yes, people do have an obligation to their family, but they also have an obligation not to take the money of a city they are not willing to live in. It's unethical. Let them go somewhere else and be cops. Nothing holding them in the big, bad city.

Name:	comrade -	Reply
Subject:	Excuse me?
Date:	2/9/2011 11:56:13 PM

Since when do ethics have anything to do with business? Or legal process? Current ethics are whatever you can do and not get thrown in jail; in fact, most of the successful tend to respect ruthlessness without regard to the other guy - very Darwinian. You are showing your age - and like others, becoming less and less relevant in today's "modern" world. The ethics that you are talking about are too complicated and inconvenient.
Michelle Obama was on the Today show this AM and declared that the days of being employed at the same job for a career are over. It she just echoing the world, or trying to manipulate it?

Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	You're excused....
Date:	2/10/2011 8:50:18 AM (updated 2/10/2011 8:50:39 AM)

Hound, its not disingenuous if it is factually correct. Look at the 10 or 20 worst cities in this country and you will see an entirely Democrat run government. If you look at the 10 or 20 best cities it is more of a mixed bag. While there may be Dems governments in the best cities list there are no GOP run cities in the worst list. My comment stands......facts are stubborn things.

As for your rule that if they work for the city they should live in the city. Just curious, when you worked for the federal government did you live in DC or one of the safe suburbs with better schools? I can assure you that if that were the criteria in Detroit the quality of the police force and firefighters would drop substantially because you would eliminate a large number of the better candidates.

Name:	Talullahhound -	Reply
Subject:	You're excused....
Date:	2/11/2011 12:01:18 PM

Well, I worked for the federal government not the DC government, but no, I didn't live in DC and none of my jobs were located in DC. (The Pentagon is actually in Arlington, VA.) When I began and then ended my career working in the Northern VA suburbs. But, to your point, there are some very nice areas in DC. It's not all Southeast, which is probably the area that you think of when you think of "inner city" DC. I would not live in the "projects". But, the people that own Southern Star grooming and boarding on 259, both lived and worked in DC (for the FAA). And if my employer had required me to live in DC,then I guess I would have done so. I understand your point about democratic city governments. I really don't think it is the party that is the problem, but the fact that much depends on the intelligence and the experience of those that hold those offices. I often think that mayoral and other city appointments are the "first time" experiences for those that aspire to governorships or national office. But, I look at the democrat that is running Newark NJ, and who is working well with it's Republican governor and making great strides in Newark (which really is the armpit, everyone says). And I think corruption is a huge problem at the city level. In DC, after the diaster that was Marion Berry, Sharon Pratt Kelly tried to fix DC, only to find out that federal law would not permit her to actually fire those do-nothing employees, that suck the life out of the city.

Name:	Talullahhound -	Reply
Subject:	Excuse me?
Date:	2/11/2011 12:09:36 PM

there's no question that my age is making me less and less relevant to the "modern" world. I'm reminded of that almost every day. Regarding Michelle Obama's comment -- I actually read an article about 15 years ago that predicted this very same thing -- that eventually everyone would be their own "free consultant" to take jobs as they came up, and be eliminated when the job was over. It also predicted that everyone would ultimately be responsible for their own retirement and healthcare. I really wish I had saved the article because it was so prosaic. My age showing again -- I think it is too bad that we have moved away from the idea that one's career would be with the same company through out. There is a certain loyalty that comes with growing with an enterprise and a sense of belonging. Even in today's government, the current thinking is that employees will not stay throughout their careers, but will move in and out of government at different times in their careers. But, on the other hand, there is something to be said for movement. You garner different experiences and bring a much more rounded experience and problem solving to the table. Do I think Michelle is right? Yes, I do.

Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	You're excused....
Date:	2/11/2011 2:52:55 PM

I will stipulate that the party per se is not the problem only if you will admit that all these corrupt and incompetent city government officials in the 20 worst cities are Democrats. That is a truth that no opinion to the contrary can change.

So maybe what you are saying is that the problem is that all these incompetent people are picking on the Democrat party to make them look bad. Makes you wonder why they don't pick on the GOP doesn't it?

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