It is both amazing and unfortunate that many fail or refuse to understand a reality that is staring us all in the face. We are in a modern day recession. The lines at resource and assistance initiatives mirror those of soup lines of days we thought were long gone. Businesses that we thought would be around forever have shuttered their doors and windows, and our bad numbers -- unemployment, illiteracy -- continue to rise as our good numbers -- population, graduation and revenue -- plummet.
A city whose numbers once danced near 2 million now hangs by a thread of 900,000. This is a major contributor to our declining tax base and revenue sharing appropriation. This means that doing what we did then no longer works -- or is affordable.
We must make the tough but necessary changes. We can't operate an entire bus line for a couple of riders; we can't employ every resident, and we can no longer afford the perks once demanded by the unions. Times have changed. And now, we must do the same.
To unions that refuse to compromise for the sake of their membership, employees that refuse to give 200% to delivering quality and uncompromised service, to vendors who won't agree to a break in payments and to those who expect more, I say: We can't.
My critics have chided me for the decision that I have made. Yet they have failed to say how they will do otherwise. At some point, logic has to replace emotion and we all move forward in the best interest of the city and its residents. With an inherited deficit of nearly $300 million, the situation is not a good one.
The reality is that we have recycled and applied Band-Aids to wounds that required surgery. Yet, now that we attempt to resurrect a city that is on life support, many are fighting our efforts every step of the way.
I am not a politician. I did not take this job to do anything more than to help a city that I have supported for more than half of my life. I am aware of and sensitive to the needs and challenges of a diverse community. Yet, if I fail to do what I know will have short-term pain but be best in the long run, then I have failed those who put their faith in my leadership. If I don't, I will have failed, but so, ultimately, will the city.
It is not enjoyable to make decisions that impact the lives and livelihoods of others. Compromise is at the table, and we must all share in its sometimes bitter taste. But this is our reality; a reality that has been here for a long time, but cloaked in political rhetoric and the shuffling of figures and facts.
Detroit deserves better. First and foremost, it deserves the truth. We might not want to hear it or embrace it, but it is staring us all in the face. We can approach it head-on with a strategic approach and focused outlook, or we can close our eyes and simply hope for the best.
