Chris Savage, a Michigan Democratic activist has been following the emergency manager law on his site, Eclectablog. He posted a chart of the places that either have an emergency manager already or could get one soon. Chris looked at the Census data and he looked at the towns on that list, and he realized when you put them together... that just over half the African-Americans in Michigan are on the verge of having no meaningful local democracy.
He writes:
Solving these municipalities' problems does not start from the baseline that the locally-elected, democratically-elected officials are not a useful part of the process, to be shoved aside. Everything that happens should begin at the baseline that democracy is not just important, it's essential.
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Rachel is sadly correct when she says this attack on democracy in Michigan by King Snyder is under- reported. Can this happen in other states completely controlled by a Repub governor and his minions? Conservative newspapers and TV stations in Michigan are trying to put a positive spin on the EFM and Snyder if they are even reporting on this at all. Who is behind King Snyder? Is it someone like the Koch Brothers? I know the Mackinac Center supports him. The entire nation needs to know more about what is going on in Michigan because if a state is controlled by Repubs like MI is it just night happen to them.
Of course its the Koch Bros - any time there is a repug in the pic, Kochs are in the background.
Ah-HAH! I just knew there had to be something else behind this than "faltering" economies and underperforming schools! Of COURSE they're trying to disenfranchise minorities!!! And if it works in Michigan without a big outcry and backlash [OK, Occupy, here's another chance for action! Occupy the Voting Booths!] they're going to keep trying it. Watch out Ohio, New Jersey, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida...
Amen!
I don't understand why the full weight of the Federal government hasn't come down on this tyranny already. How can this happen in this country?
And why aren't the Michigan citizens protesting at the top of their lungs over this unAmerican act? This is worse than what was done in Wisconsin, this is worse than what was done in Ohio (although both of those were bad enough)? What kind of lay down and take it people live there?????
It's too bad that there doesn't seem to be a strong Occupy movement there, but when the movement brings fairness and equality to the rest of the country, I hope Michigan realizes that their future should be in their hands, not some state-ordered dictator.
Maddow has been covering this from the beginning. As for how this can happen in a nation like ours - well, it is. Most conclusively.
They are disempowered and disenfranchised. What is keeping them there is what kept folks in the inner-city after the crack epidemic. It takes money to move. You have to have somewhere to go to. Or else you are just stuck. These people are stuck.
It's not that we Michiganders are "lay down and take it people" by any means. We are angry and scared at what is happening in our state and our cities. However, everyone needs to understand that our state was one of the first to be hit by the recession and we have yet to experience any kind of real recovery. When everything you try ends up being completely ineffectual and your elected officials turn out to be corrupt and embezzling from the local government, you begin to lose hope that anything will ever change.
Speaking only for myself, I would love to be out there protesting and organizing my community but unfortunately, I don't get paid when I don't show up for my job as a substitute teacher - I've never had a paid day off in my almost 30 years, whether a sick day or a personal day. Regardless of how angry I am at my local, state, and federal government, my student loan payments and bills are still due every month and my credit score can't handle another default.
The law should be suspended immediately!
And one Tennessee official doesn't like women or renters voting either.
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/dec/08/skillern-jokes-on-rolling-back-voting-rights/
Was it Jerry Rubin or Abbie Hoffman who uttered the famous battle cry in Chicago in 1968 "We're all n**gers now"? Not a bad prediction, 40 years ahead of its time.
I was horrified to hear about this when Rachel reported on it almost a yr ago. Then I was even more horrified that no one else seemed interested in it. WHERE have you been DOJ??
I know it seems like a year but, amazingly, all of this has happened since April. The law itself wasn't passed until March. Crazy, right?
I'd say this is one of the biggest stories not being reported today. I cannot stress enough the need to reverse this situation. It is a coup to end around or shunt democracy away from voters. I have to wonder what happens in those Republican Governors conventions. I see a pattern, Terrible.
We knew what was going to happen. Snyder made no bones about it when he ran. The state has been redistricted and remapped to enable the republicans to win no matter how many democrats vote. We definetely need voting reforms!! We need the republican voters to watch television news openmindledly. The republican party is NOT Abraham Lincoln's republican party nor any other of our greatest republican presidents! Don't they want their party back? They more than democrats should be repulsed at what has become of the party platform. Please Republican voters - watch Rachelle! Thank You, Rachelle Maddow - LOVE your show!
I've yet to view the segment from the show but I would think the more likely connection between the municipalities would be Democrats, not blacks. Since factcheck.org documents about 80+% of blacks vote Democrat I bet there is more evidence to my theory.
Is it really better to say it's about attacking Democrats and not about attacking black people?
Surely, Mouzer, you know the answer to this one? Yes. Blacks are a protected class, not a choice, who someone is. Being Democrat is a choice, a philosophy, defined by actions.
Republicans are saying we no longer want to give a shovel to those (cities) stuck in a hole. We want to take the shovel away and begin to help the community climb back out.
Now, you can disagree with the characterization in my last paragraph, but surely you agree there is a difference between someone attacking a race versus attacking a political philosophy.
Suspending democracy and selling the organs of a body not yet cold is helping a communitiy?
Taking the shovel away to help them out of the hole?
How about bleeding someone to promote the formation of red blood cells during surgury? It worked for George Washington. Oh wait, it killed him. Oh well.
If it is acceptable for the Michigan State government to appoint an emergency manager who can nullify municipal elections and law, why not pass a federal law that would allow the President to appoint an emergency manager for a state, like Michigan?
In before "this has nothing to do with race."
Oh wait.
HOW can a Republican whose supposed philosophy champions individual rights over anything else be willing to completely negate these freedoms when the State sees fit?
Doublespeak: Democracy: The State decides when to suspend democratic principles when it deems them inconvenient.
Because money is speech. And if those communities really wanted a say in their own destiny then they'd be buying their own politicians to look after their own best interests. Representative democracy is nice, but you get what you pay for.
The people of these municipalities need to ban together and deny these dictators power. Municipal employees, city hall, police, fire, teachers all need to get together and stop work. Tax payers should refuse to pay all municipal fees, taxes, fines, everything. If the people stick together the city cannot do anything. Run the dictator out of town. NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION.
Just the tip of the iceberg folks, the republicans have been destroying local government for at least 30 years. Between privatization of services, sale of public utilities, public buildings, state and federal pre-emption of local authority, these insane takeover laws and starving local government to force them into bankruptcy. Charter schools, vouchers, faith based solutions for social services are all symptoms of an Ayn Rand dog eat dog society. A little window dressing of privatized compassion for the masses does not alter the reality that republicans are inherently programmed to always place profit ahead of people.
I know that emotions are running high on this issue, but the facts are that by its own estimates the City of Detroit will run out of money in April and and will have a $44 million deficit by June 30, 2012. The City is being closely watched by Moody's for a possible downgrade. If the downgrade occurs, or if an emergency manager is appointed by the governor, this will trigger an Event of Termination under $2.5 billion of the $3.8 billion of swaps and other derivative products that Wall Street sold the City, the water department and the sewer department over the years. This is strangely reminiscent of the current Jefferson County, Alabama bankruptcy fiasco. This Event of Termination will cost the City and the two departments in the neighborhood of $400 million, money the City does not have. To me, the real story here is Wall Street selling the City complex derivative products that are now bringing the City to its knees.
This story made me as mad as the supreme court decision to allow corporations to buy our elections. Surely this law will have to face the courts. Of course, that takes such a long time and in the mean time, American citizens will live in tyranny. Our founding fathers are turning in their graves. The GOP is overstepping in pushing their agenda, but this will most likely help the Democrats in the 2012 election. This story needs to make it to the mainstream news. The Republican agenda needs to be exposed. The FOX folks who live in a bubble will not hear about it, but they are not a majority. Talk about taking our country back.
While it is true that the decline of automotive manufacturing has had a devastating impact on Michigan cities, significant manufacturing job loses extend to include the appliance industry, furniture industry and pharmaceutical industry to name a few.
It is not possible to maintain a middle class based upon the service economy jobs that have replaced our lost manufacturing jobs.
We continue to enjoy purchasing low cost products from our retail stores at the expense of being able to sustain a middle class in our country. More and more cities will find themselves unable to function as revenues continue to decline.
While it is of vital importance that cities rid themselves of waste and corruption, that in itself will not be a final solution. Emergency managers exist to put bandages on the problems at the expense of union contracts and retirement benefits. They are not a solution to our problems.
Your continuing reports about the states that have been hijacked by the RW are so scary. Here are the things I would like to know about these alarming events.
I wonder what compensation these city managers receive compaired the cost of elected management'
They say it's $180,000/year; but, didn't mention the bene's nor would I trust that figure.
I hadn't even thought of that. The question I'd like to piggyback onto James' and Janis' comments is how many of the appointed emergency managers are personal friends of the governor?
Almost all posts here communicate outrage with Gov. Snyder's tactics and actions. I suggest a "Change.org" petition to DOJ to look into the situation. It is one of
most scary things to happen in America in a long while. It smacks of totalitarian states against which the Tea Party usually utters war cries. Republicans are all for minimal government until they can use it for their ends. Make no mistake about it the issue is all about race (read Ron Paul's books). There is a multi-state movement to disenfranchise African Americans and others in the voting process. In Florida Gov Scott
changed the restoration of rights time frame after completing incarceration arbitrarily
from as soon as possible to extend out for about 5 years before the person who
has served their time can vote. In Florida the Republican majority in both house and senate are gerrymandering congressional and state election districts to pack African Americans into few districts while making more Republican districts white or have few Blacks. Many Republican states are also passing voter ID laws that put
impediments in place for young, African American and Hispanic voters in the
name of protecting against voter fraud. There is no evidence that such legislation is needed, no studies, no allogations of voter fraud. The combined attacks, for that is
what they are, are all intended to do one thing – remove President Obama from
office. That is all they want and they will do anything to achieve their goal.
Everybody here is missing a critical point. All of the areas currently under an emergency manager had the oppurtunity to reduce budget deficits on thier own. They didn't for whatever reason; fear of not being reelected, too close of ties to labor unions. What would all of these people do insted of appointing an emergency manager to fix the severly broken budgets? Sit by and allow the city to continue to bleed millions of dollars and spiral further into debt? When the budgets are balanced the emergency managers will relinquish contol back to elected officials. Perhaps in the future the threat of having an emergency manager come in will motivate elected individuals to not spend carelessly.
It's amazing how people comment on situations not knowing the full story, such as how a municipality got itself into such dire financial straits, but know how to poke the bee's nest to stir trouble without resolution. Do some more homework before coming to such narrow opinions regarding reasons for solutions.