Of all the depressing facts about the once great City of Detroit, this to me is the most upsetting: In 1950, there were about 296,000 manufacturing jobs in Detroit. Today, there are less than 27,000 (Hat tip Zero Hedge Blog).
Government -- federal, state, and local -- made this happen. I know this from experience. Government corrupted the Detroit work force. That corruption drove away my company too.
Until 1984, I was a business owner in the city, employing about 20. I moved my business 60 miles away. I didn't want to leave, but I was, in effect, forced to.
Many think that crime spurred the exodus of business out of Detroit. Not in my case. To combat crime we would build a stronger "fort." We called it "fort building" because if my neighbor put heavy wire screen on his windows, the thieves would break into my shop. If I bricked up my windows in response, my neighbor might be broken into. This escalated to the point where many businesses eventually put fencing topped with barbed wire around their buildings. Still, although "fort building" was expensive, it was far cheaper than moving.
Detroit's abysmal educational system did not drive me away either. As it happens, my particular business did not require highly educated people. So I could hire high school graduates not literate enough to fill out an application form.
