Water- They Got Ya By The Gonads

Detroit activists call for UN help as city shuts off water for thousands: "The latest sign of Detroit’s decline came from the city’s water department, when it said in March it would begin shutting off water for up to 3,000 homes and businesses a week."

It's not all the fault of the water company. According to this same article, "Nearly 50 percent of DWSD’s 323,000 accounts were behind on payments as of March."


Or Is It?
"The rate for residential customers has doubled in the last 10 years. The average bill is now $75 a month, according to the Free Press, much higher than the nation’s average rate of about $40."



I can see the dilemma. How can any water company maintain a 10" water main that may only feed one or two homes over several blocks. Especially if customers aren't paying. Then on the other hand, who the hell can afford $75 a month either!

All of this is rather sad to watch as the United States slides further from what it once was for the middle class. I'm not sure I have solutions, but one thing's for sure, the lack of decent full time employment for the average Joe Blow has dried up. Perhaps it's due to automation. Perhaps in some cases it's companies taking their operations to cheap 3rd world countries. Perhaps it's the cheap foreign imports. Either way, something has to be done if this nation is going to thrive like it once did.

By accident or design the income gap is has become nearly unmanageable. In the 60's (when I graduated) any kid could get a job straight out of high school. There were plenty of small businesses where one could find fulltime work. Enough to support a family even if the wife stayed at home to raise the family.

Take for example, way back then one could set up a small repair shop. Not anymore since huge companies design things to be un-repairable and refuse to stock or make parts for them. They'd rather sell stuff. Take for example lawnmowers and other power equipment. How many super retailers like Lowe's or Home Depot are interested in servicing anything after the sale? Same goes for electronics, apparel and so forth. In the 60's a kid could set up a small shop and find a niche market to do these things. But in today's world it's nearly impossible to find repair parts for them.

Back then a kid out of high school could make furniture that would last a lifetime, find a fulltime job in textiles or do a whole host of other things they no longer can. Why? Because I don't care how productive, efficient or innovative you are there's no way to compete with foreign workers who are paid less money per week then we need to survive on for just one day.

Therein lies the key to resolving America's difficult problems. (1) We need to re-visit these unfair trade agreements. (2) Give cost benefits (via taxes and regulations) to those companies and small businesses that provide the best support to American workers. I'm not talking about giving American workers an unfair advantage but rather a fighting chance. (3) Recognize not every new worker coming into the marketplace is going to turn out to be a rocket scientist, doctor or hold three degrees in art.

The bottom line in all of this is... we need to reduce the ever widening gap between the haves and have-nots somehow one way or another. Else Detroit is only a reflective microcosm of what will surely become of this nation. In so denying such a problem currently exist is refusing to see what lies before this nation's future.