There are effectively no more local elections in Michigan, the Governor has seized power to wipe them out, to vitiate them under the illusion of a financial emergency. Yes, the emergency -- need not even be real, or severe, or even proven- just declared.
There are essentially no limitations or procedural protections in the law sufficient to withstand the bald and unprincipled use of power. Now, it is true that all localities are legally created by the State or Commonwealth, and in law the principle applies that the power to create is inherently the power to destroy-- however, there is an higher level of Government and it too has the power to create legal relationships with the cities, counties-- the Congress has done so for most of our national existence. Grants, contracts, civil defense- all have more and more obtained federal-to- city status. These contracts can effectively be changed in fundamental ways by the power grab in Michigan and are completely subject to being undermined by mere political preferences- we have seen the plan for Republican hostility to Federal dollars even when the people NEEEED the programs and jobs they bring-- such as high speed rail lines in Florida, for that matter light rail lines in Detroit. There is also the weight of time itself, Detroit has been here a long time, longer than the State in a sense,and the people had a contract with the Federal and State government that precious fundamental contract of a Democracy-- that nothing as important as their vote would be taken away without extensive due process-- that there would be some severe reason for doing so. So let us look, what is so severe that the people of Detroit must be deprived of the government they have chosen-- well it is a "financial emergency" as a creature of the State, the State has an obligation to endorse that debt crisis or consider the damage done by a municipal bankruptcy.
But on a deeper level, some troubling questions arise:
what is it about the Detroit voters that caused the "emergency"?
For that matter - what did the elected officials do to cause the emergency?--
did they force the automakers to move overseas?-
did they trigger the housing market collapse?--
or did they cause massive unemployment?
The remedy of taking over a local government needs to be related in some way to the cause of the problem-- let's say the root cause of the financial problem may be an inequitable distribution of tax and public revenues attributable to the a Detroit area by the State itself, the Governor and the State legislature-- lets say they cut budgets and unfairly redistributed revenue--or just cut the budget because the Koch Brothers said DO THIS. Lets say the allow insurance companies to wreck the local economy by harsh and discriminatory policies. Or lets say there is a gross underestimation of the economic value of Detroit as a regional economic hub.
Finally, was the takeover needed even if a financial emergency in some real and legally sound definition did exist-- is it more than a need for money subsidies or reforms--ahh, there is the bigger prize-- can some group suppress the vote in Detroit enough to put Michigan in Romney's column in the fall-- yes it is possible-- just emergency yourself into forcing the Detroit Department of Elections into a condition of four hour waiting lines for the election in November and you will
put the entire State Michigan into the Red
Friday, April 27, 2012
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