The president and his administration have "a dangerous lack of urban vision and no understanding of Detroit’s unique issues," in the view of Free Press editorial page editor Stephen Henderson.
After Vice President Joe Biden and a White House spokeswoman gave hands-off responses to questions about the city's bankruptcy, Henderson offers "some much-needed direction for President Barack Obama and Clueless Joe."
Detroit’s rebirth is what they ought to be focused on, thinking about how federal dollars can help fuel the city’s economic growth, shore up its services and attract the businesses and residents who will ply its future. . . .
Sources close to emergency manager Kevyn Orr . . . have told me that he lobbied hard with Obama senior adviser Valerie Jarrett (a longtime friend) for federal help and has been frustrated by the White House’s lack of engagement.
"We don’t need a bailout, but an investment in an iconic city with unique problems," wries Stephen Henderson. [AP Photo by Paul Sancya]
The opinion editor's call for targeted support for Detroit projects is displayed across the top of Sunday's front page with this headline: "Wake up, White House, get in the game."
He suggests federal investments locally to:
- Expand "high-quality, highly accountable educational options for city families."
- Restore "sturdy, brick single-family homes that are beginning to deteriorate even in our best neighborhoods."
- Build Coleman A. Young Municipal Airport "into an economic driver would lift the entire city and the immediate surroundings."
The financial crisis, Henderson writes, is due "in large part to spectacular, federally subsidized abandonment, scattered and inconsistent manufacturing policy and retiree issues that are beginning to sink cities around the country."
Why shouldn’t Detroit, as classic a case of the horrible consequences of federal and state disinvestment, be the model for a re-examination of what specific federal investment might build? . . .
If Detroit is now a unique symbol of the greatest fiscal decline of an American city, it’s also poised to be unprecedented in its renaissance. And what’s done to help Detroit could be unique, too. We don’t need a bailout, but an investment in an iconic city with unique problems — and unique promise.
