Buy a house for next to nothing? (Detroit: insurance, taxes)
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Location: 30% Brighton--60% Grand Rapids 10% on the road
6,185 posts, read 6,265,689 times
Reputation: 3950
Quote:
Originally Posted by fmax
And this is what the resident gets -
Detroit City Council member considers closing gas stations, restaurants overnight
Restricted hours would be between 11 p.m., 5 a.m.
"Detroit City Council Pro Tem Gary Brown is floating around the idea of an ordinance to keep Coney Island restaurants and gas stations from operating after hours.
Brown, former deputy police chief for the city, said after hours are also prime hours for crime to happen. He referenced the recent fatal shooting of a Highland Park gas station clerk at 3:30 a.m.
"If you look at the data on shootings and robberies, they take place at establishments open late,” Brown said.
The restricted hours could be between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m."
Taxes aren't the problem. How much are taxes in L.A. or New York or Tokyo or Toronto? Those places are brimming with people.
To be concise, don't overlook the fact Detroit is run by a bunch of scammers mainly voted in by illiterates as reflected by the HS Graduation rates... Does this mean posters here at CD who live in Detroit are illiterates? No!
Do to light-weight construction methods the suburbs will be blown out much faster than those brick/wet plaster homes Detroit used to have.
Detroit, Michigan
Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with mortgages in 2009: $1,677 (2.2%)
Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with no mortgage in 2009: $1,173 (2.2%)
Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with mortgages in 2009: $3,605 (0.8%)
Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with no mortgage in 2009: $3,729 (0.8%)
Just a little FYI for the semi-literate commentary about Detroiters.....
Voter participation levels drop as education levels drop. Thus, those who are voting in Detroit are not likely to be illterate.
That's interesting. I would think voter participation has more to do with peoples' interest in politics than education levels. It seems to me that if you are correct, the more educated portion of the population would be electing more competent public officials. That does not appear to be the case.
That's interesting. I would think voter participation has more to do with peoples' interest in politics than education levels. It seems to me that if you are correct, the more educated portion of the population would be electing more competent public officials. That does not appear to be the case.
Well, maybe there is a correlation with interest in politics and educational levels.
I don't except the argument that public officials are incompetent or less competent (than what?). We have to deal with the reality that certain problems are intractable in a given window of time and reality. In other words, you can't be said to be incompetent if you are given the task of squeezing water out of a rock (for example Detroit) and another seen as competent because he can squeeze water from a sponge (Oakland county).
Semantics at this point. Detroit is clearly descending into Anarchy.
Instead of seeking out real criminals – like the person who murdered Tamara Greene, for example - law enforcement will have to police legitimate business operators “operating a business during high crime hours”. (Understanding criminality is subjective and once the law is passed the business owners will be “real criminals” and should be held criminally liable for operating a business during high crime hours.)
I think this scheme is going to negatively impact the tax base.
Not to mention any marginally successful criminal will probably figure out it’s best to steal copper and fat fryers from businesses that are closed during the “high crime hours”.
Well, maybe there is a correlation with interest in politics and educational levels.
There are a lot of dumb people that vote. I refer to them as "Democrats". But that's another thread.
Quote:
I don't except the argument that public officials are incompetent or less competent (than what?). We have to deal with the reality that certain problems are intractable in a given window of time and reality. In other words, you can't be said to be incompetent if you are given the task of squeezing water out of a rock (for example Detroit) and another seen as competent because he can squeeze water from a sponge (Oakland county).
"Competence" = not spending more than you can "squeeze out". Doesn't matter the actual dollar amount. In Eastpointe, they have cut back drastically! We're barely making ends meet and there was even talk of an Emergency Financial Manager. But the mayor and council have done an exemplary job of reducing costs. One irony is that although the police force was cut back amid cries that crime was going to get worse, crime actually decreased.
...Instead of seeking out real criminals ... law enforcement will have to police legitimate business operators “operating a business during high crime hours”...
I think this scheme is going to negatively impact the tax base.
Not to mention any marginally successful criminal will probably figure out it’s best to steal copper and fat fryers from businesses that are closed during the “high crime hours”.
I don't think this is necessarily the case. Police enforce closing hours at bars/nightclubs, ostensibly because it reduces crime. That doesn't mean that it increases crime elsewhere, does it?
Nor does it reduce the tax base as people will just do their business during operating hours. Unless you mean they will go to the suburbs instead?
Having businesses open 24 hours a day probably does reduce the break-ins in the middle of the night, but it also increases the armed robberies, I would think.
I'm not sure why bars close other than noise factors. From the article, the City Council doesn’t cite liquor stores or bars, only gas stations and coney restaurants. But you are correct. Liquor store and bar robberies and even peep shows should rise in response. Especially if police are preoccupied enforcing the gas station and coney closures.
No gas stations would definitely limit the freedom of movement not to mention the general fear of running out of gas. Closing gas stations could hurt the so-called tourist industry Detroit is trying to cultivate. The cruise ships visitors will be afraid to rent cars and explore the area. Imagine leaving the casino or Tiger parking and the gasoline from your auto has been siphoned away? Everyone will be catching cabs carrying gas cans to Eight Mile and back to their cars. If Moroun doesn't get a waiver for fuel plazas, trucks could run out of diesel on the Ambassador Bridge. On the other hand, underground markets for gasoline could spring up.
It’s an irrational idea.
Thinking about reducing the tax base…
Recall from the “retire in Detroit, fix home” thread:
- “Marvin Denha says scrap thieves have stripped his family business properties…
He was checking on the properties at 4:30 p.m. Thursday when two guys with tools broke in.” -
My thought is all the closed businesses will be looted in the middle of the night. Locks will be cut from underground gas station storage tanks. The liquid will be pumped away. Air handling equipment will be taken from the roofs, etc. The evidence is in the “retire in Detroit, fix home” thread.
From the article –
“But he says businesses that want to stay open should be required to hire off- duty police officers, and to upgrade their security systems.”
Pay or die? Extortion of money from the businesses on top of the current taxes they pay. (This is already done in Boston Edison, Indian Village, Palmer, etc with their private patrollers they’ve been forced to hire.) Alternatively, owners can risk leaving their buildings to scrappers.
Most likely a spike in vigilantism as the remaining businesses pack up and leave… with the citizens trailing behind.
But anything is possible. An anonymous donor may come along any day now.
Detroit City Council member considers closing gas stations, restaurants overnight
Restricted hours would be between 11 p.m., 5 a.m.
"Detroit City Council Pro Tem Gary Brown is floating around the idea of an ordinance to keep Coney Island restaurants and gas stations from operating after hours.
Brown, former deputy police chief for the city, said after hours are also prime hours for crime to happen. He referenced the recent fatal shooting of a Highland Park gas station clerk at 3:30 a.m.
"If you look at the data on shootings and robberies, they take place at establishments open late,” Brown said.
The restricted hours could be between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m."
Restricted hours will not stop the criminals...they'll just change their hours...
County Officials Giving Away Detroit Homes For $500; Taxes Must Be Delinquent
Wayne County will send people door-to-door to offer thousands of foreclosed Detroit homes for as little as $500, a move that would keep a roof overhead for occupants and possibly get properties back on the tax rolls.
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But that's another thread.
