Thursday, October 8, 2009

Say Yes to Michigan

The doors open at Cobo. This photo by Daniel Mears of the Detroit News is part of a slide show available here. If you think the economic crisis is easing, watch the slide show.

How bad is the Michigan economy when Flint residents drive to Detroit to get help? Charlie LeDuff of the Detroit News reports on the chaos that ensued when desperate crowds gathered at Cobo Center to get applications for rent and utility bill help from the Fed:

Luis Irizarry, 35, drove from Flint for the chance he could get assistance. He later found out only Detroit residents are eligible. He said it was a shock to see this many people in need.

"This is ridiculous," Irizarry said about the thousands who showed up.



2 comments:

  1. So this is the City on a Hill, eh? I guess they couldn't build enough Wal-Marts to give all of these poor folks a job. But it's okay, the free market will save us.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Those slides just made me feel very thankful to not be in their position. It must have been a very desperate and depressing day for those that didn't qualify.

    We all kvetch and complain about the little things, but at least we have a roof over our heads.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for commenting. I moderate comments, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. You might enjoy my book about Flint called "Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City," a Michigan Notable Book for 2014 and a finalist for the 33rd Annual Northern California Book Award for Creative NonFiction. Filmmaker Michael Moore described Teardown as "a brilliant chronicle of the Mad Maxization of a once-great American city." More information about Teardown is available at www.teardownbook.com.