Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Bread and Circuses in Detroit

It is described as the biggest city bankruptcy in history. In Detroit public services are being cut . Fighting fires, emergency medical care, and trash collection are now precarious operations. Retired municipal workers will have their pensions slashed. Even the artwork in the city art museum will be sold off piece by piece.

Nevertheless, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has chosen to grant  $283 million to subsidize a new arena for the Red Wings Ice Hockey team in Detroit. Its owner is the founder of the pizza chain, Little Caesar’s, Mike Ilitch, whose family is worth $2.7 billion dollars. Keep the plebs happy and offer bread and circuses at the coliseum.

Perhaps Detroit should take a lesson from  Brazil, where mass discontent with the quality of schools, hospitals and the government led to ptotests against the cash provided for stadiums built or refurbished for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics.

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