How Liberal Policies Ruined the City of Detroit

This video was total bullshit, please don’t come to our city.

I’m glad you commented because your comment exemplifies the height of socialist folly. All those liberals and with all their rules, regulations and mandates in Detroit, yet somehow they weren’t able to prevent people from putting profit in front of the lives of others? Why not? Yes, if only people lived their lives and behaved like the socialists want them to, all would be great the socialist say. But they don’t. Even the socialists themselves don’t. You see, instead of discouraging it, socialism invites precisely the type of bad behavior you’re complaining about. Please don’t come back to my Web site!

SF did not have to deal with the exportation of jobs during times of record corporate profits like Detroit did.

Of course, if SF only had small problems to begin with, then it’s less likely to have large problems going forward. But somehow socialist policies didn’t make things any better for Detroit, and I wouldn’t possibly imagine how strong unions demanding ever increasing worker benefits could have made a job exportation problem any better. It would make it far worse!

I agree whole-heartedly that the Union mentality is too-often one of intransigence; but one must consider the side who opposes the workers’ right to organize and collectively bargain. I am a teacher in Texas and see the abuses of my fellow professionals at the hands of management every day. To place the blame on teachers and the unions who attempt to improve our working conditions is extremely dishonest.

It depends on what the unions do. If the demand for benefits is so high as to drive the corporation into the ground, then we’ve got a problem. It’s unfettered union greed, to use some socialist lingo.

The video seemed capable of picking the low-hanging fruit (exploiting Detroit’s failure) without showing what really bent the branch (failures of the public AND private sector to create a society that can succeed).

There’s no symmetry between the private and public sector. The private sector is under no obligation to create a society that can anything. Just as you are under no obligation to save a child from starving in Africa instead of paying for your totally frivolous and materialistic cable TV, cell phone, or Internet service that you retain out of greed with no consideration to the starving children of Africa. We can only make policy through the public sector, not the private one. If the public sector was unsuccessful in making the private sector behave in a certain way then it is 100% its fault.

the “problem” is abandonment by the corporate-controlled job base o the next lowest bidders. SF does not have to deal with that because the corporate citizens (cisco, google for example) follow a sense of stewardship of the local community.

If Cisco, and Google had to deal with Detroit unions, they’d leave as well.

Just as we have a problem that corporations seek only the fattest profit margins and (more seriously) the officers of those corporations seek the biggest salaries and bonuses. You cannot fault workers who create a product while excusing managers who set policy and maintain credibility.

Two wrongs don’t make a right. And a handful of officers making the big bucks does not even come close to the drag a powerful union presents.

actually, it is under obligation to fulfill its requirements as a person within the USA to pay taxes, just as I am. Those taxes go into a number of programs benefiting society as determined by policy-makers. Ergo, the corporation IS under obligation to assist society.

They pay their taxes. Otherwise they go to jail, just like you. So where’s the complaint?

“If the public sector was unsuccessful in making the private sector behave in a certain way then it is 100% its fault”.
-agreed. This is an excellent argument for increased regulation of corporations.

It’s nothing of the sort. You’re assuming that government regulations are always benefitial. This is not the case. So this is an argument for de-regulation as much as it is an argument for regulation.

So, in other words, socialism does well in places where few fixes to capitalism are needed, and does poorly in places where many are. Some track record.

Why would they allow that to be stripped out or reduced once it was established?

To avoid driving the industry into the ground.

Part of the reason for that is that the capitalist and managerial class of the IT industry has learned from the mistakes of previous industries and has dealt with labor equitably, forgoing the need for an overly adversarial relationship with labor.

Ah, so in fact good labor relations benefit capitalism. And I thought that under capitalism wages and working conditions naturally dwindle down to zero.

This is important because it refutes Mr Crowder’s thesis that Detroit is the “fulfillment of liberal policies”. Clearly, San Francisco is a MUCH more liberal city and is far and away a more successful place. I will, further, say that the relationship is causal and that liberal policies in SF have allowed the creativity of its residents to be unconstrained from capitalistic job-lock because of the social safety net. This is funded by the businesses that pay taxes within the city and who wish to be in the city because of the excellent quality of workers there. It is a positive feedback loop.

Like CA, SF has a large budget deficit and will have to cut down its socialist heaven or go down with the state. Apparently said business taxes are just not enough.

I will, further, say that the relationship is causal and that liberal policies in SF have allowed the creativity of its residents to be unconstrained from capitalistic job-lock because of the social safety net.

Or liberal policies could have nothing to do with it since SF is benefiting form its proximity to “Silicon Valley” which has its roots in the early 20th century and whose development is largely attributed to Stanford University. And now companies are attracted to the area by virtue of having a concentration of high tech industry right there.

Detroiter said – This video was total bullshit, please don’t come to our city.
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I thought the video was very good and enlightening, but, no worries, mate, got no plans to visit…

…but if it is so bullshit, name 3 positive distinguishing points that might change my mind…somewhat.