On "Meet the Press" today, a propos of nothing David Gregory asked and with
zero follow-up from Gregory,
Bloomberg came out with this:
This is a country that was built by immigrants, this is a country that became a superpower by--because of its immigrant population. And unless we continue to have immigrants, we cannot maintain as a superpower.
And I'll give you a good example of how you can fix some of the problems in America. Take a look at the big old industrial cities--Detroit, for example. Got a great mayor in Mayor Bing. But the population has left. You got to do something about that. And if I were the federal government, assuming you could wave a magic wand and pull everybody together, you pass a law letting immigrants come in as long as they agree to go to Detroit and live there for five or 10 years, start businesses, take jobs, whatever. You would populate Detroit overnight because half the world wants to come here. We forget, we, we whip ourselves a little bit too much. We still are the world's greatest democracy. We still have hope for--if you want to have a better life for yourself and your kids, this is where you want to come. And you could use something like immigration policy, at no cost to the federal government, to fix a lot of the problems that we have.
We've been talking about this over in t
he Tree Bud Café. Irene said:
I thought this was very odd. "Gulag" came to mind.
Freeman Hunt said:
I'd comment on the Bloomberg comment, but it's hard to type with my jaw sitting on the keyboard.
Irene said:
Freeman, that was my reaction. Imagine if Donald Trump or Sarah Palin had said it....
Blooomberg = Trump after Finishing School.
Bloomberg has the Mr. Moderation act, but underneath it, perhaps he's out of his mind.
पोस्ट्स
९५ टिप्पण्या:
Math Equation of Bloomberg's Plan:
Pass rules to let immigrants come and (force them to) stay in Detroit + ?????? = Successful rejuvenation of Detroit
The Metro Detroit population is only 4% below its peak reached in 1970.
Detroit was founded on cheap steel and steel-products made from Minnesota iron and Appalachian coal. Myriad industries, including shipping, grew too and thrived supporting those basics. Detroit declined when those went away.
Is there something new in place to replace all that?
So apparently all it takes for a city and businesses to prosper is repopulation?
Are we bringing entrepreneur immigrants in with the lot?
Next he'll tell us that the government can use underperforming Amtrak trains to ship them there.
"And you could use something like immigration policy, at no cost to the federal government, to fix a lot of the problems that we have."
Demonstrable disconnect alert!
I love the part about the 'no cost to the federal government'. Followed by the predictable 'to fix a lot of the problems...'
That the federal government is responsible for.
I've got it on good authority that if you hire a plumber that creates a disaster in your home, odds are you won't ask him to come back and do more work. Why do so many feel differently about our bloated government???
Beef gulag was on the high school cafeteria menu a lot.
Bloomberg's idea, as stated, is stupid and probably unconstitutional.
However, the the idea of "Enterprise Zones", for instance, is hardly novel at this point.
So if Detroit is really in such bad shape, make (in effect) a Federal Disaster Declaration, permit residents to defer federal taxes on earnings in the zone (or forgive the taxes), and provide other similar benefits.
What could go wrong, with the Feds administering it hand-in-glove with the local politicians?
WV: realfics - A fictional tale that's claimed to represent Reality.
Why would any self respecting immigrant- legal or illegal- want to go to Detroit?
I too am out of my mind.
But I would pay people to leave these forlorn places like Detroit & Camden, NJ so we could start over.
And btw, they would have to promise to never return.
Gee, Mayor Bloomberg, I wonder why Detroit became depopulated?
I mean, it was a Democrat's paradise: union and Democrat and African American controlled for decades.
Why would anyone leave?
Not to take the idea too seriously, since it is obviously crazy but just for fun, why not spin-out some ideas?
If the new immigrants cannot leave Neodetroit, then wouldn't there need to be some kind of wall or fence with border crossings and so forth? If things didn't work out too well, the full citizens, who could leave, would. Now what you've got is a little foreign country located inside a US state. I'm reminded of townships inside of apartheid South Africa.
My usual assumption is that if Bloomberg said it, it has to be dumb. Dumber than Trump, far dumber than Palin. We've had quid pro quo homesteading programs in the past and there is no reason to reject them if its the right quid and the right quo. This seems as poorly thought out as usual, but or course Bloomberg leaves the details to the little people.
One of the more telling insights into the Leftist Democratic mind.
Having destroyed the place, they want to relegate it to the least-wanted, not to mention least able, segment of society.
This is what made much of urban Europe the hellhole it is today
Overshadowed by the hint of gulag cities:
Take a look at the big old industrial cities--Detroit, for example. Got a great mayor in Mayor Bing. But the population has left. You got to do something about that.
The parasites want the host resurrected. So they can suck out its lifeblood again.
How about instead, we force the Union peeps to live there. They can tax themselves into oblivion.
If the new immigrants cannot leave Neodetroit, then wouldn't there need to be some kind of wall or fence with border crossings and so forth?
And imagine the absurdity: walls around our proto-Gulags, but none for the Arizona border.
You know, if they're not supposed to leave, maybe Bloomberg can make them wear something so they can be identified, like maybe a pink triangle or a yellow star.
Someone needs to tell Bloomberg that his dream is already a full-blown reality.
I've heard the references to Detroit being 'Little Fallujah', the terrible city government corruption, etc.
Bloomberg needs to get out of NYC once in awhile.
Are we going to build a wall around the city to keep them in?
We should send our felons.
Our own Little Australia.
We already let in plenty of legal immigrants. They don't really want to live in Detroit anymore than native Americans.
Oh, and the last WV: brutu, as is "Bru tu, etus?")
Don't Tread 2012: Bloomberg needs to get out of NYC once in awhile.
Funny, I was just thinking the exact opposite.
Another option would to be to give everyone in Detroit a one way ticket out, and let the forest take it back.
There's a set-up for a great American novel right there. It'll be a little sci-fi-y, set slightly into the future:
Muslim family in Libya. America got into the war there, but it turned out to be too little too late and Gadafhi continues in power. Muslim Dad is outspoken rebel so he has to flee; he packs up his family and they head off to Detroit, accepting Bloomberg's invitation.
In the once-great American city, Muslim family adjust well at first. Muslim parents are productive, start to make money. But problems arise for the kids-- whatever they do, they can't get away from the crime and the drugs and all the other bad stuff Detroit has to offer. It's especially appalling to the Muslim family since they are trying to live a private, devout, peaceful life.
Muslim Dad starts to realize that they are prisoners, just like they would have been in Libya. Wants to leave; is threatened with imprisonment if he or any of his family tries to. Muslim family is put under surveillance. Instead of Gadafhi's regime oppressing them and eliminating their freedom, now the American Regime is. Same story as where they came from.
Muslim Dad slowly experiences the same thing he experienced in Libya. Faced with an oppressive regime threatening his family, he becomes a rebel again... That is, he becomes a terrorist.
It worked for Israel.
But there's a HUGE difference between an immigrant-friendly country that is isolated despite it's freedoms and Mayor Bloomberg's proposal to rescue Detroit by turning it into East Berlin.
But here's the thing. Bloomberg isn't saying this about his own city, or even any of it's boroughs. God no! New York doesn't need help. It's awesome!
To understand the how Bloomberg could say something so stupid you have to read Dave Berry's Can New York Save Itself. New Yorkers love failure elsewhere.
@Jason
OK, you're 'more right'. I just love it when politicians say stupid things and everyone is so quick to lend it credence until (in the media's case, unless) demonstrated otherwise. Unfortunately, the myriad factors against telling the truth usually win the day.
Years ago, here in Toledo,Ohio, we had a mayor Carty Finkbiener. To "solve" a noise abatement problem with cargo jets at the airport, he suggested that deaf people live move to the airport area. He wound up as an answer in 'Trivial Pursuit'. Mayor Bloomberg has way too much money to be questioned about this.
Does this mean Bloomberg and Eminem are going to have a beer summit?
Detroit city planners are busy working to replace their rust-belt past by getting in on the new internets and "dot-com" fads.
If Detroit lowered its taxes and made its city business friendly and middle class friendly, there would be no need to turn it into a third world prison. The fact that NYC Bloomberg avoids the cause of the problem, liberal taxation antibusiness policies.
I feel sorry for Trooper.
He's got to live in the city mismanaged by this bonehead every day.
But the population has left. You got to do something about that.
Bloomberg pretty much feels that the government has "got to do something" about everything, from cookies made with shortening to the population of Detroit.
It's all for your own good, of course.
To be fair to Mayor Big Idea Bloomy, increases in population will increase our GDP. So he has that part correct though, in the midst of a deep recession, I don't think lowly paid American workers want competitors for their jobs.
Bloomberg pretty much feels that the government has "got to do something" about everything...
Except for clearing away the snow after a massive storm. Bloomberg's government doesn't do snow removal.
Let me tell you-
Not having been in Detroit for 20 years, I went a a little tour after a Red Wings game last year.
I've seen the pictures (Ruins of Detroit), I've heard the stories.
Nothing, I mean nothing prepared me for what I saw.
What you may think is "just a bad neighborhood" is actually the "best"....and it continues.
The thought "animals don't even live like this"...was replace by-
as the shock wore off on the somber drive home-
damn, humans are highly adaptable
So who stars in the movie Escape from Detroit?
I'm thinking it has to be Charlie Sheen. Bloomberg can play himself.
Detroit was founded on cheap steel and steel-products made from Minnesota iron and Appalachian coal.
That cheap steel was produced in mills using late-19th century labor intensive methods that was inflated to monumental proportions by the needs of war; simultaneously the steel-making capacity of Germany and Japan was being destroyed. Post-war our defeated enemies re-industrialized (with our generous assistance) using more modern methods and advanced technology, methods and advancements resisted here at home by the labor movement in a bid to protect jobs. The result was by the 1970's Japan was able to sell steel in the United States below the cost of domestic steel, even though they had to import the iron ore and the required energy, and then ship the finished steel 10,000 miles.
Today we're in a post-steel economy in the United States. Steel will remain indispensable for high-rise construction, for ships, railways and locomotives, and for many kinds of heavy equipment and military gear, but the days when steel was the basis of most consumer goods are gone. As a consequence recycled steel, an industry that works best on a de-centralized model, is going to be more important domestically.
If we're going to resurrect the steel-making in this country it must be as an export-oriented model aimed at expanding markets like India, China, and Africa. Detroit seems ill-suited for that role.
Jason (the commenter) said...
Are we going to build a wall around the city to keep them in?
Mark's on the right track. This was an old Kurt Russell movie.
MarkG said...
The Metro Detroit population is only 4% below its peak reached in 1970.
And yet the City of Detroit is down roughly a third (or maybe half, I forget the exact number). People move out of Detroit and into suburbs or even rural areas where they can escape the Detroit collapse. And then the definition of "Metro Detroit" gets expanded to encompass many of these areas. So the net population change for the area is small, but the change for Detroit is devastating.
I feel sad for people in Detroit. If you drive through certain areas, you can't help but feel sad. I know it sounds like exaggeration, but I've seen neighborhoods that look like the aftermath of World War II.
But the residents supported the policies that led to this, both at the ballot box and at the labor negotiation table. And they continue to believe that more of these policies will solve the problems, not make them worse.
No offense, Mr. Trump, but I'd be much more comfortable if you ran for Mayor Bloomberg's office than President Obama's.
Scratch a liberal, discover the dictator underneath.
I have long maintained that eventually Saudi money will find its way into Detroit. 20 years from now, Detroit will be the first majority Muslim city.
Once Bloomberg puts all of the little brown people on the reservation he made for them do you think he will let them smoke at restaurants while they eat their transfats?
I don't think he would ever propose doing something similar with white illegal aliens. He is nearly as arrogant, racist and condescending as Obama.
Who the hell votes for these sorts of people anyway? Bloomberg is hated by Republicans nationwide but this sort of lunacy seems to be expected in NY. Are Republicans there that different? What is it about big cities that produces so many petty tyrants?
The concept of freedom totally escapes Bloomberg. His anti-gun shenanigans have shown that and now this.
As for Detroit, this scene from Kentucky Fried Movie (1977) sums it up.
"Bloomberg has the Mr. Moderation act, but underneath it, perhaps he's out of his mind."
Well, close. Underneath every good Liberal, you'll find a little bit of what made the Khmer Rouge so scary. They all want to socially engineer us into being better people. Bloomberg starts with salt and now he's recreating cities as he sees fit.
Scratch a liberal, find a fascist.
Maybe he thought District 9 was a how-to video.
Wow 60. Didn't even read your post. HA!
isn't that what the original ghettos were for jews in europe.
Gregory wants to convince everyone how stupid Palin is, but he lets this ridiculous nonsense go by ?
The media just lap it up when listening to their masters' voice.
fuck him and the horse he rode in on.
That's not a plan to repopulate Detroit, that's a plan to completely eliminate immigration.
There is a similar policy in some of the Canadian provinces--if you're wealthy, and are willing to "invest" a chunk of money (which you will never get back), and you agree to live in whichever province accepts you, you can move to the front of the line for citizenship.
What a surprise: those "investments" turned out to be funneled to the friends and associates of the politicians who dreamed this up--it was a scandal of major proportions in Prince Edward Island a couple of years ago.
The talking heads like David Gregory rarely challenge dumb ideas spewed by their liberal icons. Bloomberg is big on creating a public-private infrastructure bank and has said so many times on these news shows but no one ever asks him to explain what and how it works. The talking heads just seem to assume it's a wonderful idea.
"Bloomberg has the Mr. Moderation act, but underneath it, perhaps he's out of his mind."
I don't think there's any perhaps about it.
This country is not great because of immigrants, and I'm about as pro-immigrant as you can be. We have immigrants because we are free. We are great because we are free. People come here because they want to be free. Bloomberg seems to not realize that freedom is the key ingredient, and by freedom I mean what we used to have, not what we still claim to have.
Are Republicans there that different?
Bloomberg has been a lifelong Democrat. He only switched his registration to Republican in 2001. Then switched again to Independent in 2007.
Net of $18.1 billion. 18th richest American.
His wiki page has a section on "2012 presidential campaign speculation" that can be deleted now.
District 9...
Whats the one where the rich slumlord is forced to live in his rentals?
Bloomberg wouldn't last 24 hours in Detroit.
I think it was maybe The Atlantic that had something about dying cities. In Detroit's case there were 4 neighborhoods that were growing. One was the young and urban artsy with micro brewers and restaurants; one was a Hispanic neighborhood. I wonder if Bloomberg wasn't trying to kind of spin this forward. He probably didn't realize that 98% of these people were 10th generation from Santa Fe who kind of got together in a gym one hot Saturday night and watched Network and got to yelling about not taking it anymore about the heat, no not that heat, and decided to move to Detroit.
What an idiot. And I am pro immigration. Why not ask why people left Detroit and then postulate on what it would take to win them back.
Detroit's decline was not an accident or act of God, it was a man made event.
Sounds like a typical Democrat fascist.
We have immigrants because we are free. We are great because we are free.
Not free in the absolute sense, but compared to the "old country". Let's face it - the first & 2nd wave immigrants were horribly mistreated, abused, exploited in sweatshops and dangerous factories.
If Pittsburgh can reinvent itself so can Detroit.
OBL is dead - turn on your TV.
So we won't enforce our own border, would we enforce the borders of Gulag Detroit? Or perhaps we should just rename it City 17.
New York in the seventies seemed to be going the way of Detroit. Fine old buildings on the Grand Concourse in the Bronx were boarded up and burnt out. And places that were never grand turned rancid. They city has since had a turnaround. I give a lot of credit to Giuliani and some to Koch, but the people who did the hard work of refurbishment were mostly immigrants.....I think that was what Bloomberg was referring to. NY has been blessed with its immigrants.
Bloomie really is the Mad hatter. As stated, the Metro Detroit area hasn't really declined much at all in the last 20 years - just Detroit.
There's no reason for the Federal Government to care whether 100,000 or a million people live in Detroit.
Here's my plan, anyone can move to New York City from anywhere in the world, as long they promise to never leave or vote for Bloomberg.
george said...
I don't think he would ever propose doing something similar with white illegal aliens. He is nearly as arrogant, racist and condescending as Obama.
While Mayor Bloomberg today raised the bar for "stupidest idea ever proposed", it's only fair to point out that never once did he mention race nor color in regard to this utterly stupid idea. Nor for that matter did he mention religion nor country of origin.
Sorry, but I'm tired of people -- left, right, center, whatever -- making things about race without convincing evidence that they're actually about race.
Can't we just turn Detroit into a maximum security prison? Think of cost savings and the deterrent effect. Three strikes and you have to go to Detroit, no San Quentin for you.
Let's face it - the first & 2nd wave immigrants were horribly mistreated, abused, exploited in sweatshops and dangerous factories
It's so sad all those industries died in Jamestown and Plymouth. Must have been the taxes and anti-business Indians.
I'm referring to the immigrants who came 1840s-1910s.
What are they gonna do, mow each others' lawns?
I'm referring to the immigrants who came 1840s-1910s
I know; half the others just died from disease and starvation.
Better idea: move Bloomberg news service to Detroit to provide seed population. Oh, since some silly foreigners have bought NYSE, may as well force the Stock Exchange to move to Detriot too. Isolate the foreigners, you know!
I guess I'm not seeing the problems that everyone else here seems to. Has anyone heard of the Homestead act? Seems to me that was essentially the same as this proposal. My great grandfather took advantage of that opportunity, and you know what, I'm damn glad he did.
The idea that "immigrants" built this country is rather silly. I'd say the country was pretty much "built" by 1920 when we had 100 million people. And it certainly was "built" by 1970 when we had 200 million. I don't think many of the immigrants since 1970 have "built" much of anything, given we were then -40 years ago - the most powerful nation on earth.
Yes, its nice to praise immigrants - but good grief.
Hugh Hewitt proposed this idea on his radio show months ago. Bloomberg's not original on this.
Bloomberg makes an offhand comment about increasing immigration levels on the condition that those additional immigrants locate in Detroit. People completely disregard what he says, and assume he wants to round up immigrants and "force them" into Detroit. No wonder politicians are afraid to offer up innovative policy proposals.
I'd suggest that the people posting outlandish comments actually read what Bloomberg actually said, but you'd probably accuse me of coercing you into reading it against your will, and accuse me of being a fascist.
"Bloomberg has the Mr. Moderation act, but underneath it, perhaps he's out of his mind. "
Oh, Bloomberg is out of his mind, no "perhaps" needed. Look at his Mayors Against Guns group; something like 30 or 40% of them are under indictment (or worse.) And then there was all the completely illegal "undercover" crap the group sponsored...
"The idea that "immigrants" built this country is rather silly. I'd say the country was pretty much "built" by 1920 when we had 100 million people."
So those were all full-blooded American Indians, right?
jolheureux: homesteaders could abandon their homes and homestead some place else. Bloomberg's immigrants have to stay in Detroit.
Wonder what would happen to Bloomberg's immigrants if they decided to move to NYC? Round them up and deport them back to Detroit?
Excellent idea. If things don't work out they can sneak across the border to Canada.
Have you ever watched "Parking Wars?"
Detroit and Philadelphia governments may not be able to prevent murders but, man, can they "boot" a car!
I can't wait to see Michelle and Rodney give a warm welcome to the new immigrants!
Detroit in two half-centuries:
1900: 285,704
1950: 1,849,568
2000: 951,270
"I'd suggest that the people posting outlandish comments actually read what Bloomberg actually said, but you'd probably accuse me of coercing you into reading it against your will, and accuse me of being a fascist."
Steve, I read it, and think this is a fair summary.
You failed to offer an example of how it isn't a fair summary. What are you claiming makes Bloomberg's proposal sane? It's pretty unreasonable to refuse to make your argument, and yet conclude it's self evident and everyone who doesn't agree with you is illiterate.
There wouldn't be any need for a wall surrounding the city, Mayor Bloomberg. I'll handle that.
--ED209
I had lunch & saw a play in detroit yesterday. Four theaters within a 2 block radius, including a tiny one called "1515" in the rear of a coffee shop we ducked in to. Detroit is filling up with people with great ideas. Not all areas are good, of course. But the spark is real - and bigger than all these comments.
Blacks ruined that city during the 1967 riots. It's been downhill ever since.
Actually, Detroit population peaked around 1950 census, 1.9 million, has declined every census since, currently under 800,000.
More people! There must always be more people!! More. More. Still more. And no space left. Why? BECAUSE!!!
Is this some sort of tag and release program?
Is it just me or does this sound like the setup for a remake of RoboCop or maybe a new Snake Plisskin film, "Escape From Detroit"?
Who'll play Adrienne Barbeau? (Was that the weirdest casting ever?)
Re futuristic Detroit: 300 years into the future it's become Mecca West, but with a Roman Catholic fusion that incorporates veneration of the Virgin, etc. Eventually it triumphs over toxic Islam. Yay.
Do pepole not get it?
Detroit's population is vestigal parasites from decades and generations of living off of the blood, sweat, and tears of the local tax payers and base. Any immigrants that go there will be assailed and devoured like throwing cattle into a piranha filled pond or those poor saps who run, quiver in hiding, run, etc. from the zombies in the various movies of that genre. No hard working people want to be there. The solution to Detroit's problems is a "Detroit Czar" empowered to conduct a radical diminution of every anti-enterprise, i.e., anti-work, policy in effect there. Currently it is a city-wide expansion of those areas of Baltimore depicted in HBO's "The Wire," i.e., one big crackhouse.
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