Benton Harbor, Michigan, is getting some new outdoor sculpture. It's part of the Krasl Arts Center's 2012 Biennial Sculpture Invitational, and the guy in charge of Benton Harbor says it's OK for the sculpture to come on in.
The manager's approval matters, because he stripped the local elected officials of their power last year. Now, when the city commission needs a new mayor pro tem, he has to sign an order to make that happen. When the city commission proclaims Constitution Week, he cancels it, because the city commission hasn't got even that level of ceremonial power anymore. And when the local arts organizations want to hold a sculpture exhibit, he has to sign the order (pdf) saying yes, citing the "financial emergency" that gives him complete control.
There's a price to pay for this kind of governance. Back in October, when it looked like Benton Harbor might be getting its democracy back soon -- it's not -- Chris Savage of Eclectablog wrote:
Nothing has been done to reduce poverty. Nothing has been done to help Benton Harbor citizens to become more politically-engaged, educated or prepared to lead or even select good leaders. The systemic problems of poverty and education will continue to plague this community and there’s no reason to believe that the city won’t be right back in the same place several years from now.
And you could say that's just a Democratic activist and liberal blogger talking, but today he posts word that the former emergency manager of Pontiac, Michigan, is making essentially the same argument.
"I do not believe EMs can be successful -- they abrogate the civic structure of the community for a period of years then return it virtually dismantled for the community to attempt to somehow make a go of it. The program provides no structure for long term recovery, and that is why most communities slide back into trouble, if they experience any relief at all -- a vicious cycle. The Public Act is not sufficient and the state bureaucracy isn't up to a performance offering any significant success -- as can be noted from the communities repeating."
We've been wrestling with the question of what's going on in Michigan, from how the legislature is passing laws to conflicts of interest at a key elections board (Republican and Democratic.) Whatever's going on in Michigan, it does seem like the usual way is not working so great anymore.
(Image: New Territory Arts)
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Is Benton a test case?
No several communities and school districts have been placed under the EM law.
This is nauseating.
Could you imagine if President Obama stepped in and took over the government of the state of Texas?
Oh my, I think I just had a wet dream!
Would be the best thing to happen to Texas since Ann Richards.
You'd think from all the shrieking on the right that Obama has taken over Texas and everything else, including our precious bodily fluids.
I just finished watching "Terror Island" on the Documentary Channel about the massacre in Norway. This posting brings the depression back to this country.
While there is much more than just my country to be sad for, it is very depressing that:
- theological fascism is still a growing trend
- there is ample evidence that republican desire to rule and not govern is a growing menace
- the evolving power of the wealthy aided by the Citizens United ruling threatens to make permanent the centralization of wealth and power in the hands of the few
- there is a distinct possibility that the 1/10 of 1% will have their Mittens on the hands of power in DC
Fascism is alive and well in the United States.
Mussolini: Fascism should rightly be called corporatism as it is the merger of state and corporate power.
Lord Acton: "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Welcome to Michigan
I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our
monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial by
strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country.
Thomas
Jefferson
I'm very concerned that the people of Benton Harbor and the other MI towns with dictators controlling them will not be able to vote in the presidential election this November. Has this issue been raised?
The emergency manager law affects local voting rights -- you get to vote for a mayor, etc., but if the emergency manager takes away their power, then the people the city elects don't get to represent the city.
But doesn't the town run the polls?
In other words, you can vote but it wont mean a blasted thing because Mussolini says so.
Who appoints the staff and over sees the volunteers at the poling places? That's normally a function of the local government. Does the EM have authority over that? This is scary!
Of course, loyal Republicants will be appointed to the polling places to make sure no riff-raff Democrats are allowed to vote. What do you think this is..?
Some kind of democracy..??
I am in Flint MI & we have an emergency manager. We still get to vote but for local things it really doesn't count for ANYTHING! Democracy?
This is exactly what the US has done to Iraq and Afghanistan. Go in, "shock and awe" dismantle the existing government, rule with an iron fist for years, then hand it back to the natives saying "Here's yer democracy... good luck with that" and leave.
You left out the kicker. Appoint a lackey to do the grunt work so if it all backfires you have a fall guy.
This is what happens when we are complacent and do not pay attention to what is going on in government. In a situation like this, it does not matter if we are interested in politics or not--we have to take a stand and fight, and fight offensively.
My God, what are you people supposed to do? You have no choice, no say in any matter whatsoever? This is the United States of America. We are supposed to be free, we have rights. What is happening.....Oh, another govenor bought and paid for by the Koch brothers. You must have something they want to steal from you. See the buy the govenor then take electric companies, highways, towns, whatever they want. Until we can do away with the Koch's and those like them we should all be afraid. There are many of us who have new repub govenors that the Kochs bought. I live in Ohio and we are selling off prisons to private entities and toll roads to someone, hell China for all we know. This can and is happening all over the US. Look at Florida, Wiscosin......They are trying to buy the Presidential election......what will happen to us plain old people if they are successful? We need to make sure Romney gets no where near the White House. They will end up buying that and all the monuments and museums. Where will it end?
another governor bought and paid for by the Koch brothers
Actually, Rick Snyder made his own gazillions at Gateway and a venture capital firm.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Snyder
Debbie Gunning Perry: You ask, "What can we do--?" HERE'S what you can do--You join the national organization named MoveOn.org--that can raise more money from more people PAINLESSLY--% $10.00 each from ONE MILLION MEMBERS--than the Koch brothers could ever hope to do. THAT'S WHAT YOU DO.
Maybe your town will be saved like that. That's why the RePukers have always been terrified (RIGHTLY SO!) of MoveOn.org, (of which I am a proud member).
The Russians weren't too happy about the dictatorship of the proletariat either.
What on Earth are you talking about? What's going on in Michigan, much less the former Soviet Union, had anything to do with the dictatorship of the proletariat (something which has never yet existed, and may never in the future at this rate).
No, it's NOT a "dictatorship of the proletariat" that's going on in Michigan--it's the "dictatorship of the 1%" that's going on in Michigan, Benton Harbor, et al. OK?
(AKA: the "dictatorship of thieves").
It'll be the 'dictatorship of the proletariat' when the 1% are the ruled and the 99% are the rulers. The 'dictatorship of the proletariat' is only a dictatorship from the narrow, self-interested perspective of the (hopefully someday) former ruling class.
Perhaps the people of Benton Harbour need to take a cue from the Arab Spring uprisings. The only thing dictators fear is organized protest. He should restore democracy or join his fellow dictators (Gadhafi, Mubarak) in forced retirement. Hopefully the US government will provide them with military support.
I have said for a long that the City of Benton Harbor was put in the hands of black people..First they didnt know how to run a city and they were at a disadvantage for that same reason.. now they struggle to get the right people in office but it's hard because everybody has an agenda that is hidden. So lets start from the begining elect people that will have a stake in the city's growth. no matter who it is as long as they have the city and the residents first!
The GOP @ work
This article is spot on. I live in Flint, and I haven't seen anything - NOTHING - that makes this city better. Police are still slow to respond (they don't even come for robberies anymore, unless they're in progress), potholes still dominate the roads, I wouldn't know about the schools because I pulled my kids out of them last year. For the sake of those children, I hope something is done soon.
EM means the citizens who have already been affected by EM can't elect anyone, Harry. That fundamental right has been denied to them by this state's government- And for the rest of us in Michigan who don't have an appointed EM yet, it also means that whoever we do elect, our governor can just "remove" at his discretion. We have to get EM repealed and get Snyder out of office.
Wasn't there a land grab involved in Benton Harbor? It seems to me this rich land developer wanted to put in a golf community on some land the people owned because a rich philanthropist gave the people land for a park on lake Michigan. The community went broke and Snyder appointed the E/M and the developer was allowed to take their land.
you are correct. They want to create some super rich golf community that no one in Benton Harbor will be able to come within 25 miles of. It is for all those business people and wealthy coming up from the Chicago area.
You know? This is like Syria or any other country under a dictator. Think Haiti under Papa Doc. They rape the treasury, do not provide for the people and then WONDER why the 'natives get restless'...and this is in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. I wish there was some statute where we could send in federal troops to save them. Educate the masses and let them govern themselves. Kinda like when the employees took over United Airlines...you know?
No, Len, you're not correct. That's the Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course in Harbor Shores, a land development fronted by the former CEO of Whirlpool Corp. and co-owned by the regional economic development commission Whirlpool created. It happened years before the emergency manager. The reason BH residents can't come to play is economics, Corey: it costs more to belong to the golf club than most BH residents make in a year. If they can pay, they're welcome to play. There were several lawsuits filed by Friends of Jean Klock Park to stop the golf course from taking the land, but even the city manager hired by the Benton Harbor City Commission supported the development. He, of course, was among the first to go when the state declared the city insolvent.
I live in west Michigan and I feel lucky we haven't had to deal with an EM, but for Michigan as a whole....it has been a nightmare since Snyder took office. Republicans are getting away with things that I would never have imagined would even take place, let alone be accepted. I'm amazed at how little press this is getting, as well. I think other than a brief snippet on The Daily Show last year and an article in a Boston paper, this is the only show that has reported on it. It's infuriating. Michigan needs help and we need it now. I am honestly afraid of what could happen if Snyder keeps getting his way.
RECALL the bastard. Now would be the best time, with your letter over each petition sheet.
Would you sign a RECALL petition against Snyder? I bet you would!
I am a teacher in Michigan, and it's unreal what Snyder is doing to teachers and public education. I have absolutely lost every right I've had for the last 12 years. He's taken millions of dollars out of public schools and uncapped the limit on charter schools. He's also changed the cut scores on standardized tests, so now pretty much everyone is failing! Many of my co-workers are very scared as to what the future holds....
I am a teacher in Michigan, and I have lost every single right I have had since Snyder took office. I've also taken every possible cut. His latest endeavor is to dismantle teacher's pensions. He's taken millions of dollars out of public education , so he can boast about how he now has a surplus in our state. He has also lifted the cap on charter schools, so any corporation or business can go out and just build a school with no clue how to run it! I am very scared for teachers and public education. If he stays in office, my guess is the government will no longer be funding education, corporations will.
Bet that YOU TWO, and EVERY SINGLE TEACHER IN MICHIGAN, would sign a Recall against Snyder! Get to it! NOW!
I live in New York myself so I dont have to deal with this but at an American I have to say that this is absolutely disgusting and tramples on American rights. It doesn't matter if your Democrat, Republican, or whatever. We should all be outraged at what's going on in Michigan.
Shi-Ron Mormon and others from outside of Michigan, you can still help us here. For some reason this insanity is not getting any national attention- except from Rachel Maddow, God bless her. I know that right now you think "I live somewhere else so I don't have to deal with this" but keep in mind if they get away with it here, they can do it in other states, to other towns and cities. Please share this blog page, please start asking questions like "Why the hell is no-one talking about this on the news?" and please consider the ramifications to this country as a whole if Rick Snyder is allowed to rule Michigan like a dictator! This video shows Snyder walking into Benton Harbor a year ago. I live in Michigan and I did not hear a thing about any of this until months after the fact. What is with the national silence here? Democracy and freedom are on the line for all of us.
New Fascist America:Coming soon to a town near you?
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=utube+benton+harbor&view=detail&mid=803DA083DB53D1B96F79803DA083DB53D1B96F79&first=0&qpvt=utube+benton+harbor
I live in Michigan and I know that the Newspapers are owned by Corporations. The News in Michigan is full of junk and rarely ever reports the truth. Rachael is the only one who is shining a light on what is happening in Michigan. The Republicans are destroying the school systems - cities - hurting the poor and the elderly - and they could care less!!!!!
For those following the Michigan crisis, here is what is currently going on in Detroit...
http://www.workers.org/2012/us/detroit_0419/
and btw EM is charging the city, and has placed a MILLION DOLLAR cap on EM mandated officials salaries
And according to news that came out yesterday the proposed budget cuts in Detroit are going to be aimed at, you guessed it, presidential elections. What a shock considering what an important voice Detroit had in the last election.
Disenfranchising voters is the name of the game:
http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/C4/20120417/COL10/204170402
It appears that the more religious influence our government is infested with, the more repressive it becomes.
I started a petition on change.org to get the RNC chairman to acknowledge and condemn this. Every Republican I've talked to about this says its a horrible abuse of power that the party nationally has nothing to do with, so Mr. Priebus so should no problem issuing a statement saying just that. I sincerely doubt the national GOP wants this anymore than the people of Michigan.
http://www.change.org/petitions/rnc-chairman-condemn-michigan-republicans-attack-on-democracy