Apocalypse Now (not the movie)

[Erick]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v-LB3DhbvM

[Jackalope]

    It is a shame to see what must have been very nice homes now in ruins.  The city can't tear them down fast enough.  It's such a depressing city.

[Kbop]

for better or worse, 'times they are a changin'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj7tun-ePIY

[JoJo]

 WOW they got a McDonnell's a Taco Bell and I even saw a gas station. I even seen buildings that still had their bricks still there, bricks that weren't stripped and sold. A virtual paradise compared to Camden New Jersey, that is until Chris Cristy was elected governor. Camden doesn't even have a supermarket. A city without a supermarket 
 I feel for the people of Detroit because they didn't do it to themselves. Detroit car makers made crap cars because the unions made it impossible to fire someone even though they didn't do their job.   

[Kbop]

ever feel that the rot in our society is most visible in our inner cities?
An apartment, i rented when i was in college, was burnt to the ground in the 90's for the insurance.  it's still a vacant lot today in downtown St. Louis.

[JohnyMac]

Some preppers think TEOTWAWKI will be:

> Financial,
> EMP,
> Pandemic,
> Et cetera.

When in reality it may just be a slow decline till we are back again into the Dark Ages.

[zanedclark]

Sad business

z

[JohnyMac]

Back around 2000, I was visiting some of my stores in the Detroit area. My district manager suggested a great restaurant in the heart of Detroit.

We found it alright but leaving I made a left when I should have made a right. We were in a neighborhood that looked similar to the ones in the video. We would stop, look at the street sign (if available) and tried to find out where we were using a paper map.

When all of a sudden we were surrounded by three police cruisers. One of the police officers motioned for me to roll down my window, which I did.

Once down he said, "what are you two boys doing here?" I explained to him we came from X restaurant and got lost trying to get back to the highway.

His response was, "Drive straight four blocks where you will find a traffic light. At the light make a right and stay on that street till you get to the freeway. And, that cruiser will follow you to where you make the right at the traffic light. You boys are is the wrong part of town so do not stop for gas, or anything for that matter till you are on the highway."

The officer who spoke to us was very serious and we did what he asked. LOL.

But Detroit is not the only city like this. Philly, Newark, Camden, Baltimore to name a few are just as bad. 

[CJS06]

To me the scariest thing about the decline of areas like Detroit, Baltimore, Philly, Chicago etc is that it is frighteningly evident how the policies led to the state that they are in right now.  Somehow these same policies that destroyed these cities are being promulgated as the "answer" in so many other areas.  Here in RI, for such a small state, we have crumbling infrastructure, crumbling schools and a budget equal to a state of more than twice the population.  Our gov keeps giving.....to illegals, increased welfare, 2 "free" years of college in state schools.....with never a cut anywhere.  Every discussion is where to get more revenue, from taxes, fees, fines, etc, always coming out of the pockets of the people who do work hard. As a result people who are able are leaving our state in droves. 

The question of "citizenship" on the upcoming census is a huge point to the politicians here.  They are afraid that if that question is left on the illegals here wont respond to census takers and that with that our state will fall beneath the population cutoff and we will lose a Rep in Congress.  WTF, last time I check our Reps were supposed to be representing citizens not illegals! (sorry small meltdown).

The population shift here is more of a welfare state than an state of earners. The more that the policies that drive this the more people with any means leave, creating a self fulfilling prophecy. I honestly believe in 20-30 years much of RI, and large sections of New England (Springfield MA, New Bedford MA, Hartford CT, Bridgeport CT) will be just like Detroit.  Sadly many of the people with means are leaving the failing areas of Mass and RI and are going to southern NH and Maine where they start bringing their failed policies with them. Now those areas are turning into the same shitholes as their neighbors.  Somehow they just keep doing the same thing over and over.

Not once did I mention political affiliation or leanings in this.  You take a guess at which party or which political philosophy is predominant in these policies.

Rant Over

Chris

[JoJo]

 Your right CJS06 it's all about the money. Money is power and some people are power mad. There is some hope though. Cities in Californacation are starting to sue the state. Lets hope they win and it follows through to other states.

[JohnyMac]

LOL Chris. Now you know why we moved from RI. As people leave RI and other liberal states like, CA., MD., IL., etc. the only people that will be left are the very rich and the very poor. Then the rich will leave because more and more of a burden will be placed on them. Just look at the states that people are moving to. States with no income tax, low property taxes, and in some cases a minimal sales tax.

Funny story: Since we left RI we have received separate nasty letters from the DMV, Town, and State all requesting taxes - Present & past! Each government agency I had to prove that we were no longer residents complete with notarized statements and copies of current ID's.

Just last week we got another nasty gram from the Town letting us know that they have notified the states DMV requesting them to not renew our RI vehicle registration for failure to pay our town taxes on our cars. I sent a email to Nany M***0 asking her to get off her fat but, walk down to where house sale transfers are kept and to look up our sale/transfer March of 2017. No response yet. LOL

I am a big fan of voting with your feet if your state is totally out of control. I know it is rough to give up a job and relationships to move but it is the only way to get out of the web of legalized theft by our governments.