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Philanthropy Can Help Save Rust Belt Cities, If Labor Helps Too [Forbes]
…theirs is a story with a lesson that goes beyond Detroit — and could, if rightly understood, be extended to include — and give new life to — other Rust Belt cities. Like Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, St. Louis and especially Chicago are straining under the burden of “legacy costs” and a paralyzed politics that’s been unable to deal with them, even as city services erode.
Indiana Primary: Laid-off Rust Belt Voters Become Key Players [CBC/Radio Canada]
Indiana remains America’s manufacturing heartland, with some 29.5 per cent of the total output in the state coming from manufacturing last year … But the state’s manufacturing sector has been the largest source of job loss between 2007 and 2013 … with nearly 60,000 jobs lost in that six-year period.
Refugees In Buffalo: Reinforcements Have Arrived [Buffalo Rising]
How do we like where we are. Where do we want to be? Do we like our Rust Belt grit, or are we eventually going to shed it like snake skin? Do we want to have trendier neighborhoods? Do we want to retain the family friendly atmosphere of Larkinville? Will developers change the face of Elmwood and Hertel, as they have posed?
Cleveland Muscle: Art On Wheels [Fresh Water]
“The auto industry in Detroit has become very supportive for CIA’s (Cleveland Institute of Art) transportation program financially and academically. Every year, GM and FCA will sponsor a student design project with CIA. Directors and designers from Detroit come down and review student works during the semester. Students also have a chance to visit the design center of the auto manufacturer to get to know the real design environment.”
Boxing: Dirrell Brothers Put Face On Flint Water Crisis [Sherdog.com]
The Dirrells did not leave Flint even after they had the financial means to do so because they believed to move away would be a sign of surrender, something as repugnant to them as quitting in the ring would be. So they decided to stay and fight, to help their beleaguered city rally on the scorecards, as it were, despite mounting evidence that a significant comeback might be too much to expect.
Detroit’s “Grand Bargain”: A Model For Others? [Forbes]
Donor-advisors may or may not sign off on using their support to reduce local government pension liability. But the paper found that, if a Detroit-style Grand Bargain were established in Chicago, St. Louis, Cleveland and Buffalo, each facing significant pension liabilities and budget crunches, the foundation commitment might not exceed anything more than about two percent of net assets. It could be an option worth considering.
What’s Killing The Poor In Northwest Indiana? [The Northwest Indiana Times]
Northwest Indiana itself is one of the most unequal areas for life expectancy in the country, the study determined. A 40-year-old Region resident in the top quartile of annual household income (more than $100,000) can anticipate living seven years longer than one in the bottom quartile. That’s the same gap in life expectancy that exists between the U.S. and Guatemala.
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Banner photo by Matt Gowing.
