Yes, many old houses and buildings in Detroit need to be demolished but that need isn't even in the top ten in a list of immediate concerns. We need jobs, education, police, firefighters, mass transit, road repairs, social service workers, hospital beds, homeless shelters, and safe recreation for kids before we need to tear down houses.

The government should help set up worker owned & managed factories. Or just even state owned industries. Use the money for that instead instead of giving profits and tax breaks to the 1%. Communities shouldn't have to beg companies for jobs. Communities should control their own local economies democratically.

Ed seems cool because he is pro-union and stuff but begging companies for jobs is old-school thinking. We need to try something new.

Detroit should build solar panels and windmills.

THANK YOU for echoing what I've been saying for DECADES. I also have been wondering why they don't diversify into TRAIN parts. We're going to be needing more mass transit now that cheap oil is gone.

The problem has always been this: the people making these decisions are comfy fat cats in the suburbs that have done just fine with the status quo.

During WWII Detroit converted to war production overnight, more or less, to win the war. We need that same kind of mindset now to meet our modern challenges. Like you said, we need mass transit. Also electric cars, windmills, solar panels.

We have vast unmet urgent needs. Right next to that we have an army of unemployed workers and idle factories. And our system can't figure out how to put those two things together to meet the challenges. Because of exactly the reason you said: the people making the decisions aren't the ones being hurt. And the people being hurt don't call the shots.

I do not know how much Elon Musk pays his workers and whether his car company can ams produce cars, but I think he should be asked to move his production to Detroit. In addition, as far as I know Ford Motor Company makes its Ford Fiesta in Mexico. There needs to be an effort to get those cars made in America.

It begs the question: what is an 'American-made' car any more?

I've been saying this for years: Detroit has always had it's share of ignorant fools, just like anyplace; but there were JOBS before. This is the case in any American city. We're just the poster child for this shit.