Detroit Wants Its Own High-Tech Visa 398
dcblogs writes "Detroit, a city in bankruptcy and dealing with a shrinking population, hopes to turn itself around with the help of 50,000 employment-based green cards. In exchange for the visa, an immigrant would be required to 'live and work' in Detroit for an undetermined length of time. The visas would be made available under the EB-2 visa category, a visa for advanced degree professionals or those deemed with 'exceptional ability' in the sciences, arts and business. The proposal was made by Michigan's governor, Rick Snyder. Daniel Costa, an immigration policy analyst at Economic Policy Institute, said Snyder would have more credibility on the issue if he were doing more to help workers in Detroit. In 2011, the state cut jobless benefits by six weeks to 20. 'I also think the federal government should be offering people in the U.S. some money and land in Detroit if they'll move there,' said Costa, or 'just offer it to people across the country who have advanced degrees.'"
Not just handouts - public employee unions (Score:3, Informative)
Look at how much of Democratic campaigns are funded by contributions from public employee unions.
We now have a government by the government for the government. AKA the Democratic Party.
Re:The real point of what Detroit has to offer... (Score:5, Informative)
I don't know if Detroit will ever be "important" again, but Michigan as a whole has more going for it than former automotive plants, and "fresh water" only hints at it. That water's good for more than just drinking and industrial uses, after all: it's important for agriculture and has a whole lot of recreational potential too. The whole belt west of metro Detroit (and a bit to the north) is good for a variety of farming. North of that are countless forested lakes and rivers which are great for fishing and canoeing. And then there are the Great Lakes themselves, which have seasonal sandy beaches (think "California without the saltwater"), and are good for boating and also fishing. Lonely Planet listed Michigan's west coast and nearby Grand Rapids as their "top travel destination" for 2014, which is admittedly hype, but reflects well on the state's potential economic future, regardless of Detroit and the auto industry.
Detroit Metro (not City) is a nice place to live (Score:5, Informative)
actually we can do it now with desalination, no advancement really needed.
Not economically. Industrial scale desalinization is still far too expensive to be practical in most places.
", Detroit, and Michigan in general, will be relevant again"
nope, never happen. Crappy weather, high crime, republican stripping away representation for all but about 50,000 people, no industry... nothing really.
I have news for you. The Detroit Metro area is relevant NOW and has been for a long time. Don't confuse Detroit City with the greater Detroit metropolitan area. Detroit City has its problems and they'll take a while to solve but relatively few people live and work there. About 680,000 people live in Detroit City versus about 3,700,000 in the suburbs. Oakland county [wikipedia.org] immediately to the north of Detroit City is one of the 10 wealthiest counties in the entire US, has a AAA bond rating (the highest possible) and 60% of the Fortune 500 have facilities in the county. It's a genuinely nice place to live - I should know because I live there. When most people say they are "from Detroit" what most really mean is that they live in Detroit Metro, ie the suburbs.
No industry? Hah! Michigan is still the beating heart of manufacturing in the US. The amount of manufacturing that goes on here is astonishing even with the auto industry problems. And it isn't just making cars. Not by a long shot. The number of engineers and high tech jobs here is only exceeded by 3 or 4 cities in the entire US. (do you have any idea how much technology goes into making cars?)
Oh and the weather is only "crappy" for part of the year if you can't handle snow. Spring, summer and fall in Michigan are gorgeous and so is winter once you get outdoors and move around. Personally I like to go skiing, snowshoeing, and skating and Michigan is terrific for outdoor activities year round. Within a 10 mile radius of my house I have over 16,000 acres of public parks with every outdoor activity imaginable available to me. Horse riding, skiing, running, biking, sailing, kayaking, golf, hiking, camping, etc. You name it I can be doing it (season permitting) within 30 minutes.
Re: The real point of what Detroit has to offer... (Score:5, Informative)
counter-balance to the Democrats that have allegedly managed to run Detroit into the ground...
"allegedly" ???
Its a fact that Detroit was run into the ground, and its also a fact that the Democrats ran the city for literally 5 contiguous decades.
You seem to be hypothesizing that Detroit might have been run into the ground by people that werent making any of the decisions there, rather than the people that were. Interesting blindfold you have.
Re:Shut up unless you've actually lived in Detroit (Score:2, Informative)
The Pistons play in Auburn Hills, not Detroit. So if you are going "downtown" for stuff as the poster stated, you are not seeing the pistons.
You will note that I did not mention the Pistons. Of course if basketball is your thing, Auburn Hills is just a short drive right up I-75 and just off the highway. 20 Minute drive from the northern border of Detroit, traffic permitting. They also hold games sometimes at Ford Field downtown - college and Final Four stuff usually.
Eventually the Pistons are probably going to move downtown just like the other sports teams. Right now the Palace is still in pretty nice shape unlike the Silverdome and the old (now torn down) Tiger's stadium. I've already heard talk about it. The Red Wings are trying to get a replacement for Joe Louis Arena which is getting pretty shabby looking.
Re: The real point of what Detroit has to offer... (Score:4, Informative)
People say that every time someone who isn't considered "tough on crime" gets elected, but the statistics often tell a different story. People say Giuliani did a great job of reducing crime, but the precipitious drop actually started under Dinkins [wikipedia.org] (who also started a lot of the "broken windows" policies). The steep decline continued after Giuliani appointed Bratton PC, but then started to decrease after 2 years when Giuliani fired Bratton. Note that the LA crime rate started dropping faster after Bratton became PC there. Later Giuliani appointed Kerik the crook as PC, despite almost all advice being against it.
Giuliani, like all politicians, takes credit for everything good during his administration, and denies responsibility for anything bad. If you want to know what led to NYC's decline in crime during that era, the objective evidence says it had little to do Giuliani. Rather the tree big factors are.
1. Overall national drop in crime rate (the reasons for which are a major debate).
2. Bratton
3. Dinkins