Politicians and
citizens alike are struggling with the decision to bail out the under-performing American automakers. But
what will happen to the cities and towns of the Midwest if the automakers fail?
Flint, Michigan provides an interesting template. In the 1960s and 70s, Flint had a population of 200,000 and was home to some 80,000 autoworkers. Today, after many
plant closures, relocations, and worker buyouts, only 8,000 autoworkers remain. So,
what are we to do with cities like Flint? There have been lots of ideas, like
demolishing dilapidated houses, renovating brownfield sites like
Chevy-in-the-Hole [pdf], downtown business
renovation, and increasing community participation by
giving ownership of vacant lots to local homeowners.
[more inside]
posted by billysumday
on Dec 5, 2008 -
54 comments
Death for embezzling? The former chief of the state run Bank of China, Liu Jinbao, was given a suspended death sentence for embezzling 7.72M yuan (approximately 1M USD). His assets have been seized, and it is expected that his sentence will be commuted to life in prison. As China actively seeks to lure foreign investments, including banks, this is meant to send a strong signal about corruption in the financial sector.
posted by SirOmega
on Aug 13, 2005 -
18 comments
Bank robbery in progress: You can probably watch it live on TV right now. Six schools close to the bank have been shut down, and the FBI is negotiating for the hostages to be released.
posted by ktheory
on Sep 4, 2001 -
4 comments