Why is the united states economy bad? - Politics & Religion

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ButterThumbz wrote:

Hey, you may have been born into that world but that shit didn't start happening in my country until I was nine years old.

Well that's my point. There wasn't shit I (or anyone of my generation) could do about it until it was so deeply ingrained.

meccalecca
Voice of Reason

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swedenman wrote:

There are people protesting. The problem is that the US is so absurdly politically divided that a large portion of the population (usually the richest, most powerful portion) wants to keep these people in power.

Oh, i know this all too well. it's the apathy of the majority of the country combined with corruption.

Fact: Royal Baby has received more attention in the US than Detroit's collapse and the cuts in food stamp funding combined.

The future is looking frightening
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ButterThumbz
I always used to wonder if she wore false ears

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swedenman wrote:

Well that's my point. There wasn't shit I (or anyone of my generation) could do about it until it was so deeply ingrained.

I wasn't accusing you (or your generation) of putting them there but your response almost seemed to suggest that bankers have some kind of divine right to power. Before you were born, people chose to vote for governments that had decided it was no-longer their job to manage society. They told us society could govern itself, gave the banks the keys to the country and then pissed off for a few rounds of golf.

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ButterThumbz wrote:

I wasn't accusing you (or your generation) of putting them there but your response almost seemed to suggest that bankers have some kind of divine right to power.

Haha, not at all. I'm just saying that it certainly wasn't our choice.

Guest

Yeah, what's that Detroit thing? it's like in movies! Why so little coverage? shouldn't it be all over the media right now? It's like the hugest thing that can happen in a country and it's so drown out that when I hear about it, it just seems like a parody of future ruination or sth.

ButterThumbz
I always used to wonder if she wore false ears

Gender: Male
Age: 53
Location: O'er the hills and far away

swedenman wrote:

Haha, not at all. I'm just saying that it certainly wasn't our choice.

I do get where you're coming from and it is certainly difficult to see an alternative to the way things are going. Especially when the US government now seems to look like some kind of homeland security branch of the CIA.

EyeKanFly
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tekin wrote:

Yeah, what's that Detroit thing? it's like in movies! Why so little coverage? shouldn't it be all over the media right now? It's like the hugest thing that can happen in a country and it's so drown out that when I hear about it, it just seems like a parody of future ruination or sth.

I remember when Harrisburg (capital of Pennsylvania) filed for bankruptcy, and that was a huge deal, everyone in Pennsylvania was freaking out about it. Although Harrisburg's bankruptcy claim was dismissed, when San Bernadino (California) filed chapter 9 (went bankrupt) and was approved, that was a huge deal. I was not in the United States at the time, and I remember it was still a huge deal for me, and all the other Americans I was with were always discussing it.

My reaction when I saw that the City of Detroit had been declared bankrupt was basically, "wait, I thought it was already bankrupt?" I think American might just not be surprised by the bankruptcy of Detroit (even though it's the biggest US city to become bankrupt). But I agree that it's being underreported. You'd think the media would be going all buck-wild "the end is nigh" right now.

If I recall correctly, Gowienczyk said he was from Detroit. I wonder if a Detroiter might have any insight into this that somehow the New York (and or national) news is failing to report on. It's such a shame, Detroit was once one of the greatest cities in America (though admittedly not really in my lifetime). I've never been to Detroit, but I know that some of the architecture there is absolutely amazing. If for nothing else, I'd like to go there eventually to check out the architecture.
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meccalecca
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EyeKanFly wrote:

My reaction when I saw that the City of Detroit had been declared bankrupt was basically, "wait, I thought it was already bankrupt?" I think American might just not be surprised by the bankruptcy of Detroit (even though it's the biggest US city to become bankrupt). But I agree that it's being underreported. You'd think the media would be going all buck-wild "the end is nigh" right now.

I definitely think the lack of surprise is a factor, but either way, it has certainly been underreported. The collapse of Detroit should be a very clear warning to the rest of the country. None of our other cities are immune to this. Taxpayers financed a $400 million stadium for the Red Wings. This misappropriation of city spending is really destructive. In NYC the amount of taxpayer money thrown to stadiums recently is dumbfounding. We're willing to bailout banks, corporations, but not cities.

Corporations > citizens
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EyeKanFly
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Age: 33
Location: Gotham

meccalecca wrote:

I definitely think the lack of surprise is a factor, but either way, it has certainly been underreported. The collapse of Detroit should be a very clear warning to the rest of the country. None of our other cities are immune to this. Taxpayers financed a $400 million stadium for the Red Wings. This misappropriation of city spending is really destructive. In NYC the amount of taxpayer money thrown to stadiums recently is dumbfounding. We're willing to bailout banks, corporations, but not cities.

Corporations > citizens

I know, it is fairly ridiculous. I remember when they were considering putting an Olympic stadium in New York, and literally every single person whose opinion I heard on it said "what the fuck are they thinking?".

To be fair as far as the stadia go, they drive in lots of tourism and help to stimulate the city. If you think back to 9/11 when so much of the city's money was going to disaster relief (though that was during a different economy but still), the Yankees were the pride and joy of New York. I can only assume something similar about the Red Wings and Detroit. However, recently attending sporting events in New York has become extremely elitist, especially with Yankee games. Even nosebleed tickets are ridiculously expensive. Basically what I'm trying to say is that building stadia becomes justified when they bring pride, recognition, and tourists to a city. What I'll also say is that the Yankees didn't need a new stadium. Neither did the Mets. (Can't say about the Red Wings but I'm assuming the case is similar).
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meccalecca
Voice of Reason

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EyeKanFly wrote:

I know, it is fairly ridiculous. I remember when they were considering putting an Olympic stadium in New York, and literally every single person whose opinion I heard on it said "what the fuck are they thinking?".

To be fair as far as the stadia go, they drive in lots of tourism and help to stimulate the city. If you think back to 9/11 when so much of the city's money was going to disaster relief (though that was during a different economy but still), the Yankees were the pride and joy of New York. I can only assume something similar about the Red Wings and Detroit. However, recently attending sporting events in New York has become extremely elitist, especially with Yankee games. Even nosebleed tickets are ridiculously expensive. Basically what I'm trying to say is that building stadia becomes justified when they bring pride, recognition, and tourists to a city. What I'll also say is that the Yankees didn't need a new stadium. Neither did the Mets. (Can't say about the Red Wings but I'm assuming the case is similar).

I used to agree with the argument that stadiums bring in jobs and tourism which is beneficial to a city. They do, and it is. But they are also businesses that generate massive profits, and would likely exist without that funding. Also, those same taxpayers are the patrons of that business, so they will receive large chunks of money from us. The salaries of professional athletes are beyond insulting to the rest of us. Had the Yankees cut their payroll, they could have easily funded their stadium.

I'm so happy that we didn't build an Olympic Stadium here.

Have you seen what's going on in Brazil?
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