When a crisis strikes in America, it affects us all us Americans. The city of Detroit is bankrupt. The University of Michigan is located in the suburbs of Detroit. Ann Arbor, Michigan is close that it’s right next door to Detroit’s major airport.
Detroit became the biggest American city to ever file for bankruptcy after its emergency manager filed for Chapter 9 protection on Thursday, with more than $18 billion in debt, according to Michigan’s governor. In the 1950s, when Detroit was it’s peak, over 2,000,000 people lived there.
Today, less than 700,000.
I asked Michigan Wolverines Coach Brady Hoke how this economic crisis has hit home for his program.
Q: How has the situation in Detroit, the bankruptcy, the economic, affected your program and your personnel that are from the Detroit area?
A: I think that, everything’s a little different for every kid. Every individual, every family. It’s a little bit of a different path they all have taken. Obviously we’re pulling for Detroit. We’re pulling for the city and the state to get together or the federal government, because it’s a great town. It’s a great city. For our kids, maybe they haven’t thought in detail enough about it. But it’s all been positive.
Detroit’s homicide rate is it’s highest in 40 years. The entire city of Paris could fit inside all of its vacant buildings. It has 78,000 abandoned buildings. Once America’s 4th largest city, today more than half the traffic lights don’t even work. What’s going on in Detroit doesn’t just affect Ann Arbor, it affects us all.
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. An analyst for 95.7 The Fan, he also writes on Chicago sports media for Chicago Now. President Obama follows him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)