I received an email from my brother-in-law a day after Detroit Emergency Manager, Kevyn Orr, had decided to file bankruptcy for the city of Detroit. It may not shock you that someone would contact me concerning the bankruptcy, considering I reside in Metro-Detroit, until you realize he lives in South Korea.
The news of Detroit’s bankruptcy is not just a nation-wide news bombshell, but a world-wide fiasco.
All eyes are on Detroit. Bankruptcy, court battles, and more. The world is looking again to Detroit after a bankruptcy judge approved the largest municipal bankruptcy in the history of the nation on December 3rd. It was inevitably front page news all over the world, but the big question is, how did this happen and what can we learn from it?
First of all, Detroit has a long history of corruption. From under-the-table union contracts, to kick backs, to corrupt politicians, to the mafia. Kevyn Orr, stated that the corruption was definitely a factor in the fall of the Motor City, but in my opinion, the corruption was the reason for the fall of Detroit.
Let’s consider the history of Detroit corruption (much of this information comes compliments of Charlie LeDuff of Fox 2 News Detroit in his article “From then until now: A Look at Detroit’s corrupt political past.”
All the way back to 1929, Republican Charles E. Bowles was elected Mayor ...
