You

It does not happen often but when it does it means something and you definitely notice. So as anyone who knows me well knows I have a passion for the City of Detroit. Most people ask me why and how and all sorts of questions. I always seem to fall back to the great amount of potential Detroit has. I wasnt born in Detroit of even born close to Detroit but I still have a passion for the City of Detroit. Now back to my initial statement. When you find someone who has this same passion you take notice. Someone who wants the same things, and would like to see the same things as you do. People that have the drive you have, the mindset, and the hard working nature. It is nice to find that. It makes it even better when you feed off of eachother and ideas seem to flourish easily. When people like this come around you keep them around, you become friends, you work with eachother, you get involved in the same things and you become friends. Not just friends but good friends. Someone who you hangout with and talk with. Someone who you grow with, academically, as a person, and in this case career wise as well. I havent really had a blog like this before but I strongly feel like this was something on my mind. I dont want to mention any names but thank you. You have no idea how much you inspire me and how I cant wait to work with you in everything and anything we are invovled in and do.

Growth

Well here goes nothing...I havent had an entry in a while. I have grown so much since my last entry. Not only am I the Vice President of Phi Theta Kappa but I was named to the Presidents list for my last semesters work but I got named as Vice President of the Honors and Leadership Board and also am apart of the 2011 Student Leadership Academy at Delta College. I cant wait to make a change in this world. Another thought is that I may think about joining twitter nation and also starting a facebook page just about my business to rebuild Detroit...I landed a job at Delta College and I cant wait to start working!  I ran for Regional Vice President of Phi Theta Kappa for the state of michigan and though I didnt win, it was literally one of the best experiences of my life. I truly grew from the experience even though I lost it will be something I carry with me no matter where I go. Look out for more blog entries because I know I need this to balance myself out a bit and let people know what I have been up to and have my own diary that I can also look back at. With that said thank you to all that have supported me and continue to support me, I could have done none of this without you..

Life is Good

March was a good month overall. I got annoucned to the Phi Theta Kappa honors society board for Delta College, I am being recommended  to be on the board for the Honors and Leadership Board, and Im going to be in the Leadership Academy. My old ford bronco died, but with the help of my dad I got a new vehicle that will be much safer and more reliable. I am 4 weeks from the end of the semester. I belong to an amazing God, I have an amazing family, friends (including many new friends from school), and girlfriend, and I cant forget my amazing dog Gracie. Its baseball season. Not to mention I leave for Seattle in less than a week. Life is Good, truly life is good. I cant wait for what the future has in store.

I dont work for money, money works for me.

I am reading a really good book by Robert T. Kiyosaki. Rich Dad Poor Dad. I am going to take some things out of this book and put them here for you to read and think about but I want to give credit to Kiyosaki. These are straight from his book and you all should read it.

People do two things. Some just let life push them around. Others get angry and push back. He then says, "Life pushes all of us around. Some give up. Others fight. A few learn the lesson and move on. They welcome life pushin them around. To these few people, it means they need and want to learn something. They learn and move on. Most quit, and a few like you fight."

"The poor and the middle class work for money." "The rich have money work for them."

"Because it is ignorance about money that causes so much greed and so much fear."

I am no where near retiring but this is interesting statement about retirement.
Retirement does not mean not working...it means that, barring, unforseen cataclysmic changes, we can work or not work, and our wealth grows automatically, staying what ahead of inflation. It means freedom. Your assets are large enough to grow by themselves. Its like planting a tree, you water it for years and then one day it doesnt need you anymore. Its roots have gone down deep enough. Then, the tree provides shade for your enjoyment.

Its not how much you make, its how much you keep, and how many generations you keep it.

Rich people acquire assets. The poor and middle class acquire liabilities, but they think they are assets.

An assest is something that puts money in your pocket. A liability is something that takes money out of your pocket.

Think about this stuff there will be more to come.

The purpose of life is a life of purpose. ~Robert Byrne

A life without cause is a life without effect. Really gets you thinking. Do you have a pupose in life? Do you have a cause. What things are you doing to make this world a better place. Are you a leader or a follower? What type of things do you want out of this short time we spend on earth? Are you the type of person that colors outside the lines noticing there is potential or are you a color inside the lines type of person. Do you move mountains or are you confortable sitting looking up and the peaks in front of you. Think about what you do on a daily basis and if you are changing the world in anyway. You would be surprised at some of the small things you can do to not only better yourself but better the world we live in.

You built us, you’ve moved us, and you’ve shaped us, sometimes down but never out. Take strength in us, your people. Stay up Detroit. Don’t let ‘em say you aint beautiful.

　

The Downward Spiral of the D

In 1950 Detroit was the greatest manufacturing city in all of the United States. Also in 1950 the state of Michigan was one of eight states that made up 36% of the United States Gross National Product. The United States, Michigan, and the city of Detroit were booming with a vast amount of industries. The city of Detroit was, and still is, one of America’s greatest cities. Behind the shadow that is cast upon the city are beautiful people, architecture, and a large metropolis that we already know has a vast amount of potential. In a city where the population has been close to cut in half since 1950, many questions are being asked. How could this happen, was there a significant event that caused this, and is there things we can do as a general public that would help fix or repair this problem?

One of the things I continually am asking myself is why this is happening and how we as a state or as the city itself can fix it. Some of the reasons that I think are playing a role in the situation are poverty, and unemployment. Both of these you can tie back to the off shoring of a large amount of manufacturing jobs. There are many factors that tie into the off shoring of jobs. Not just in Detroit or Michigan but all over the United States companies are moving their factories and jobs overseas. A lot of people think this is due to labor cost. This is completely false. In Andrew Liveris’ book, Make It in America the Case for Re-Inventing the Economy, he states that when it comes to productivity when you take a US worker and a worker from overseas the US worker is cheaper labor (Liveris 19-22).  Many countries are offering companies lower tax rates and some places will even pay for the companies building processes. It is becoming more and more financially appealing. In this day in age any amount of money you can save, you as an individual or a business, are going to try and save. Every business wants to survive and the United States is not providing the appealing factors like other countries are. It is no wonder that these large corporations are moving off shore.

When jobs are being cut or being sent off shore there are many things that happen after that. People go on unemployment, lose their transportation, housing and ultimately some are even losing their lives. People need to work to survive. People are leaving the city of Detroit at a rate that is unreal. The population decline is growing at an exponential rate. Detroit’s economy is accustomed to the economic cycles of the auto industry. As most of us know the domestic auto industry is primarily headquartered in Detroit. New vehicle production, sales, and jobs related to the automotive industry account for one out of every ten jobs in the United States. The rise in the industry using robotic technologies has created a large amount of job loss. Another factor that could play into families and people leaving the city is the high crime and the better opportunity that is offered in metro Detroit. The education is primarily better in metro Detroit in places like Bloomfield, Farmington, Rochester, and other metro cities. The schools are top notch and there is a lower rate of crime. Although crime in Detroit has dropped significantly since the 1970’s, the violent crime rate is still one of the highest in the country. Crime can significantly push people out of an area, especially when they are trying to raise a family. In any large city you can throw in the issue of race differences. In Detroit these issues have been around for sometime and have been thrown into the mix as to why the population is declining.

Some people think that Detroit’s decline began with the ’67 riots. The ’67 riots caused “white flights” from the city (Keko). The population decline began a full decade earlier. In the fifties, the government created the interstate highway system. Highways made America mobile and people left the cities for the suburbs. People left Detroit for greener pastures and took their money with them (Keko). The Interstate Highway Act of 1956 created modern America and provided the hole in the dyke that led to Detroit’s depopulation and decline. Detroit lobbied hard for a highway system to promote car ownership. Americans could only go so far without roads. The new system would open up the country. Americans could travel anywhere in their automobiles. This new freedom would mean more profits for the auto industry. Consumers would feel the need to purchase vehicles as status symbols and for the freedom of mobility the highways created (Keko). The riots of ’67 surely could have accelerated the process of the depopulation but it is certainly not the main reason. The racial issues that came along with the riots to this day can be said to have an effect. The riots pitted the white population against the black population. Due to the fact that there was a highway system already in place when the riots took place the whites began to flee the city.

Mayor Dave Bing has a unique way of approaching Detroit’s overhaul. Like the auto industry, Mayor Bing is trying to prepare the residents of Detroit for a new reality. In a personal interview with Mayor Dave Bing, Mr. Bing stated, “This reality is something that doesn’t always sit too well with those people who live in Detroit. The reality is that like the auto industry, the city of Detroit will have to get smaller before it gets bigger again.” Mayor Bing has some great ideas for the city and if they work they could take the idea of the city becoming smaller essentially to become larger again into a reality. When talking to Mayor Bing I learned that he wants to shut down certain parts of the city that are rundown and have a very small number or no one living in them at all. This shut down would mean many things that would include; not plowing those roads, not running trash collectors and any city services to those areas. These areas would essentially become be dead zones. The people who are left in these neighborhoods would be moved to other areas of the city where there are large numbers of people currently living. Essentially you would have large open areas within the city; these are sometimes referred to as brown fields. Many people joke that you will have farm fields within the city limits of Detroit. In my interview with Mayor Bing when he was explaining this to me I did not know what to think of this idea. I do not know if this would be a good idea because you would have a great increase of crime, pollution, and drug activity in those areas due to the fact that they will no longer be monitored law enforcement or other city officials.

Detroit’s demise did not begin with racial issues in the aftermath of a riot. It did not even begin with economic stagnation or the shipping of jobs overseas. It did not begin with deals that went bad between the union and the Big 3. It did not begin because people wanted their own freedom and their own homes on their own plots of land. The Interstate Highway system gave us Modern America. All of these have played a large role into the decline of America’s largest manufacturing city. It also opened a box which began the decline of what once was America’s largest manufacturing city. To re-build the city we need to realize that behind the shadow that is cast upon the city are those beautiful people, the gorgeous architecture, and the large metropolis that we already know has a vast amount of potential. To do this we need people who are willing to change the city as well. When you do not have people that hope for the future it is hard to work for the future. We need people to instill the passion within them that will turn the city of Detroit into what it was in 1950. I personally hope to be one of thousands who are the future of one of the greatest cities in the United States.

Questions that need answers...

As I sit here and think about what to write all I can think about is the problems that the world has. How sad it is and how can I just one person who doesnt have a lot of money or time help these people. We have it so good here in the United States. I dislike how much the people of the United States are so greedy and how nothing is ever good enough. Another question I have is why is the United States playing world police again. Have we not learned anything in the past 10 years? We are not responsible for the worlds problems. Yes, sometimes we can help but there is no reason we should be doing some of the things that we are doing. Dont we have enough problems in the United States? There are many things that we could do in the US with the amount of money we are spending with military power overseas. Do we need to throw missles all over  the coast of Libya? I dont know the answers to these questions but I do know that there are a lot of problems locally in the Nation that we could be concentrating our eyes on.

March Madness

So I wouldnt say that I am your typical blogger but I have a great friend, Gerri Wazny, who started one that I have read and I want to try this. This will be a spot for me to share my daily thoughts as well as share my thoughts on what Im learning on a day to day basis in school, my reading, and my research. I dont know how often I will update or post but it could be a couple times a day or a couple times a week. We will see. I hope you all enjoy what I write and even learn things from it.