底特律破產是徹底的失敗
????密歇根州州長瑞克?斯奈德超人般地奮戰了兩年,希望能打破僵局:他批準了緊急貸款,聘請了財務穩定委員會。底特律的民選官員們不愿意、也無力行動時,他最終任命了一位緊急管理人。雖然遭到政敵抨擊,但這位州長干凈利落地行使了自己的法定職責。 ????1984年,我作為一名年輕記者來到底特律,當時的市長是科曼?揚。Cobo Hall、People Mover等市政工程項目被視為這個城市的經濟救星,而很多白人居民已經離開底特律遷往郊區。但從各種跡象看,顯然即便是在當時,他的計劃也還是不夠:破損的人行道,熄滅的街燈,堆積的垃圾,荒廢的社區。 ????面對日本汽車行業的強力競爭,通用汽車、福特(Ford)和克萊斯勒(Chrysler)重塑自身的過程并不順利,無可避免地給底特律帶來了沖擊。工廠關閉了。工人們再也找不到工作。全美汽車工人聯合會(The United Auto Workers)等工會組織過去總是積極爭取更高的薪資和更優厚的福利,這時也退縮了。 ????底特律在衰落,但沒有出局。一個市中心商務區已經重生。年輕人正在搬進市中心的公寓。通用汽車、福特和克萊斯勒奪回了一些陣線。在底特律的市區社區,一些先行者正在拆毀廢棄的房屋,修剪草坪,種植樹木。 ????或許最重要的是,破產將迫使這個曾經偉大的城市直面長期被忽視的責任和拖欠。底特律必須徹底改造財務狀況,翻過新的一頁,向貸款人證明它是負責任的、有信用的借款人。如果底特律能這么做,誰又能說未來它不會重塑偉大呢?(財富中文網) |
????Governor Rick Snyder struggled heroically for two years to break the impasse, approving emergency loans, hiring a financial stability board, and finally appointing an emergency manager when it became obvious that Detroit's elected officials weren't willing or able to act. Accusations from his political adversaries notwithstanding, the governor's statutory authority and duty are clear-cut. ????I came to Detroit as a young reporter in 1984, when Coleman Young was mayor. In those days public works projects like Cobo Hall and the People Mover were seen as economic saviors for a city whose white residents had largely left for the suburbs. But the signs that his programs weren't sufficient were evident even then: shattered pavement, broken streetlights, uncollected garbage, blighted neighborhoods. ????The struggle of GM, Ford (F) and Chrysler to reinvent themselves in the face of competition from the Japanese auto industry inevitably had repercussions for Detroit. Plants closed. Workers could no longer find jobs. The United Auto Workers and other unions, traditionally the distributors of higher wages and richer benefits, withered. ????Detroit is down, not out. A downtown business district has been reborn. Young people are filling up downtown apartments. GM, Ford, and Chrysler are clawing their way back. Urban pioneers in city neighborhoods are tearing down abandoned houses, mowing lots, and planting trees. ????Perhaps most importantly, bankruptcy will force a once-great city to face long-neglected obligations and delinquencies. Detroit must overhaul its finances, turn over a new leaf, prove to lenders that it's responsible and deserving of credit. If Detroit can do this, who's to say greatness can't be in its future again? |