Detroit is like one of those lost cities of a fallen civilization. Lee Iacoca (sp?)is probably too old to be a car czar. Most car industry workers can be transferred into the rebuilding of military hardware and infrastructure.
On Nov 15, 3:51 am, "\"Lone Wolf\"" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Social workers at Detroit “poverty summit” describe impact of layoffs, > foreclosures, utility shutoffs > By Tom Eley > 15 November 2008 > > A "poverty summit" was held at Detroit's Cobo Center on November 13. > The "Voices for Action 2008 Poverty Summit" attracted thousands of > social workers and representatives of charities from throughout the > state of Michigan. It was hosted by the Michigan Department of Human > Services, the non-profit Michigan Community Action Agency Association > and the Governor's Commission on Community Action and Economic > Opportunity. > Michigan has suffered decades of deindustrialization and the > attendant devastation of cities and towns. Now, in the midst of the > current economic crisis, the working class in Michigan is facing a > rapidly deteriorating situation, with job losses in the state's auto > industry mounting and home foreclosures and evictions increasing. > Social services and private charities have been swamped by the growing > demand for relief. > > According to official figures released late last month, Michigan, at > 8.7 percent, had the second highest unemployment rate in the US in > September. The figure for October will undoubtedly be higher. Detroit, > Michigan's largest city, is ranked as the poorest city in the country. > There are 2 million people in the state living below the official > poverty line, including 500,000 children. > > Thursday's event demonstrated the lack of any serious policy on the > part of the political establishment to address this social > catastrophe. The "poverty summit" was little more than a public > relations event designed to give the appearance that Michigan's > Democratic Party politicians, including Governor Jennifer Granholm, > are moving to address the problems confronting unemployed and low-wage > workers. Granholm addressed the meeting after returning from a > national media tour in which she sought to drum up support within the > ruling elite for a bailout of the Big Three American automakers— > General Motors, Ford and Chrysler—which will entail tens of thousands > more layoffs and unprecedented attacks on auto workers' wages, health > benefits and pensions. > > Over the past three decades, the auto companies have extracted massive > tax concessions from the state and from local governments, threatening > to shut plants and move production to lower-wage regions if their > demands were denied. The auto giants got their tax windfalls, and shut > plants and slashed jobs anyway. The billions in tax cuts went to > increase the wealth of big shareholders and Big Three executives, > while basic services for the population, such as education, healthcare > and housing, deteriorated. > > Granholm and other speakers at the forum said nothing about this > history or the corporations, banks and social interests that are > responsible for the social decay. Not a single substantive measure was > proposed to halt the epidemic of home foreclosures, utility shutoffs > and layoffs. Instead, there was talk of token measures, such as > mentoring for impoverished children. > > The event did attract thousands of people from all over the state who > want to address the worsening social crisis. Among the attendees were > many social workers and technical experts on questions related to > poverty, housing and education. The World Socialist Web Site spoke > with some of these participants. > > Donald Moore, a clinical therapist, said that the Detroit homeless > shelter where he works is already witnessing the impact of the > economic crisis. "We are seeing daily more people looking for shelter, > and more and more cases of mental illness are being discovered," he > said. > > Bob Houston and Justin Williams are college students. Houston works as > a social worker and Williams works at a homeless shelter. Williams > said that the shelter where he works is seeing more and more people > coming from the cold—not because they don't have a home, but because > the utility companies have cut off their heat and electricity. > Williams complained that the conference had not provided "any specific > proposals, nothing concrete." Houston said that many of his college > friends' fathers are losing their jobs at the auto companies, and that > his graduating classmates are not finding work. > > Alphonzo and John are two young workers in Detroit who are getting job > training as construction workers with an organization called the Young > Builders Association. They said that one of the biggest problems in > Detroit is a lack of affordable housing. John has seen three neighbors > foreclosed on in the past year. > > Elizabeth, an employee of the Michigan State Housing Development > agency, told the WSWS that there are 79,000 homeless persons in the > state of Michigan. What's new, she said, is that 7 percent are > homeless as a result of having their homes foreclosed. > > Many of those in attendance were social service workers from small > towns across the state. Bob Bodig, a Michigan Department of Human > Services worker from Huron County, explained that in his area there > has been an increase in poverty and unemployment. "The small farms are > gone, the manufacturing is gone," he said. He told the WSWS that there > are not enough resources to meet the needs of those confronted with > utility shutoffs. "The elderly are hit very hard" by cutoffs, he said. > > Lisa, a social worker from a small town near Flint, explained some of > the difficulties small towns confront. "Many families are losing their > jobs," she said. "There's a real need for assistance. People are > losing their homes and are not able to provide for their families." > She said many people in her area were without utilities due to > shutoffs. When asked what these families do in the winter, she > replied, "They go without heat." > > Mark, a social worker from Houghton, on Michigan's Upper Peninsula, > said that even before the current economic crisis began, the area was > very poor. Many people don't have enough money for the bare > necessities of life, he said. "People have to decide how they're going > to spend their money," he explained. "Some hold back on food to pay > the utilities." > > He also expressed concern about nutrition. "Usually, we worry about > the kids who go to bed with nothing in their belly, but there are also > many children who go to bed with their bellies full of junk food > because that's all their parents can afford." > > In general, the social workers and volunteers with whom the WSWS spoke > said that the single biggest problem is the lack of good-paying jobs. > In terms of their own work, they spoke of the need for more resources. > Many expressed anger over the fact that hundreds of billions of > dollars are being handed over to the biggest banks, but nothing is > being done to address the crisis confronting working and poor people --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
