A dying Detroit

I’ve lived outside of Detroit for as long as I can remember. When I was less than two years old, my father was transferred to Michigan for a job from Florida. So since it’s virtually my only home, one would think that I would have immense pride for my hometown and city, right?

I mean, my friends from Chicago are die-hard White Sox and Bears fans and can’t say enough about their beloved city.

My friends from New York City and the surrounding area go to the city every chance they get to enjoy the setting that so many envy.

And the same goes for friends from Louisville, Ky., Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta and Boston – they love their cities.

Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about Detroit. It’s not like I live far from the city – only about 25 minutes by car. It’s not as though I’m so busy when I am home that I don’t have the opportunity to visit; I just have no reason to.

In fact, the last time I was in the city was for a Tigers game last May.

My trips to Detroit probably average less than five a year; a few sporting events, the Auto Show and maybe dinner at a nice restaurant (of the few that are left) sum up my interaction with this dying city.

It seems that I am not the only person who has become disillusioned with a city that was once bustling with new business and expanding its population. According to the most recent Census Bureau numbers, Detroit’s population declined 8.4 percent from April 2000 to July 2006, leaving the total population around 870,000.

To put this into perspective, Chicago has a population of about 3 million; about 1.5 million inhabit Philadelphia, and Columbus, Ohio’s population is right around 800,000. They’re not shrinking either.

So why is it that more than 75,000 people moved out of the city limits of Detroit from 1990 to 2000?

I can probably give you a few reasons. First, let’s start with the most obvious: safety. Detroit is the most dangerous place to live in the country according to Forbes, and that reputation isn’t easily forgotten.

In 2006 alone, 418 cases of murder occurred in the city. Forbes reporter and editor David Ewalt noted that “more people were murdered in Detroit than in San Antonio, San Diego, Dallas and San Jose combined – and each one of those cities has a bigger population than Detroit.” No wonder I don’t venture there often.

It gets even better, though, because Kwame Kilpatrick, Detroit’s ex-mayor, is currently sitting behind bars. If you search Wikipedia for his name, you’ll sit back in disbelief when reading about all the controversies associated with this guy. And the people of Detroit actually elected him, which I hope they now regret. How can the streets of Detroit get cleaned up when our mayor is busy leasing Lincoln Navigators with taxpayers’ money?

And that’s only the least of it!

If we are trying to emulate Chicago in any way, we should not try to outdo them when it comes to government and corruption.

Of course, we can’t forget about the failing auto industry, as the Big Three – and soon to become the Big Two – attempt to take our money to bail them out of bad financial decisions. If you ask me, we should break apart the United Auto Workers Union, which will then allow the big three to lower the cost of their cars and become a competitor with the foreign companies. Maybe it’s not that simple, but maybe it is.

General Motors Corp., Ford, and Chrysler: Without you, the auto industry, and consequently Detroit, has nothing. Clean up your act, and soon.

I wish I had a solution for every problem in Detroit. I don’t know how to decrease the poverty that plagues 26 percent of its population, and I don’t know how to fix the Detroit Lions (if it’s possible). But unless something is done, the city will become a ghost town.

In the 1950s, Detroit was the fifth-largest U.S. city. Today, it’s corrupt, crime-ridden and economically drained. Sorry, Eminem, I know you love your “8 Mile,” but it’s not looking good for Detroit.