  Richard_saunders Member Username: Richard_saunders Post Number: 70 Registered: 06-2004 |
This is what I've been saying for quite some time. The reason why some of the nation's larger cities appear dynamic is because of large influxes of immigrants. Because the labor market in Michigan is closed to them, they don't come to Detroit. It's not "coolness", it's economics. http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/ 05/metro.population.ap/index.h tml | ||
Irvine_laird Member Username: Irvine_laird Post Number: 27 Registered: 02-2007 |
Amen. | ||
Upinottawa Member Username: Upinottawa Post Number: 796 Registered: 09-2005 |
Canadian cities have known this for years. | ||
Detroitplanner Member Username: Detroitplanner Post Number: 1167 Registered: 04-2006 |
Umm... this is news? A growing population stimulates a local economy by needing more goods and services. | ||
Lowell Board Administrator Username: Lowell Post Number: 3770 Registered: 10-2003 |
Hamtramck is a classic example of this. In the 2000 census, Hamtown had a 25% increase while all other older communities fell. Middle Eastern immigration and internal Bengali emigrants saved them. The only other ones to grow were Dearborn, 10%, and Southfield 4%, both recipients of immigrants, middle eastern in the first case, internal Afro-Am middle class in the latter. Latino influx both internal and external is bolster the SW Detroit census tracts. A lot of the growth in Novi and the Farmingtons can be attributed to south Asian green card techies. | ||
Sumotect Member Username: Sumotect Post Number: 272 Registered: 08-2004 |
Nowadays, immigrants are more liable to be high skilled (engineers, doctors etc) as opposed to low skilled manual laborers. They immigrate directly to the suburbs without making the traditional stop in the city. As a result the suburbs have become more racially and culturally diverse than the city. One thing I noticed when I moved to Livonia in the early nineties, and is backed up by recent things I have read regarding current demographics. Once the Iraq thing comes to a crashing halt. There will be great numbers of people who will want to get the hell out of that place. Detroit ought to set it self up as a potential new home for those folks. Same thing goes for when China retakes Taiwan. Huge numbers of highly skilled workers will want to re-locate. Detroit ought to set itself up as a potential new home for those folks as well. | ||
Detroitduo Member Username: Detroitduo Post Number: 822 Registered: 06-2005 |
What? Livonia is racially diverse?!? Let me tell you, we opened our tanning salon in Livonia for one reason only! 98% white. Sorry, but those are the demographics as of 2003. I can't imagine the early 90's were any different. Regardless, your point is correct that more high skilled immigrants are coming directly to the suburbs, but not to the cities. However, there are STILL plenty of low-mid skilled immigrants who can't live in most suburbs.... We need them ALL in Detroit... | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 358 Registered: 10-2003 |
I believe Detroit has already taken some steps to accept Iraqi refugees. Not large numbers at first, but perhaps they will establish a community. I'm busy working so if someone wants to pull the news article on this, rock on. | ||
Perfectgentleman Member Username: Perfectgentleman Post Number: 398 Registered: 03-2006 |
As usual this article gets the cause and effect backward. Immigrants flock to places that have opportunities and are prosperous already. The city of Detroit has a 14% unemployment rate now, so having more people chasing fewer jobs would not solve anything but driving down wages. That is why immigrants don't come here, if there were good paying jobs available, they would. I suppose a few service jobs are created as a result of the new arrivals, not anything that is going to raise an entire region economically. If having alot of people were the key to a great economy and a great standard of living for individuals, Mexico would be a fantastic place to be. | ||
Brian_no_5 Member Username: Brian_no_5 Post Number: 306 Registered: 10-2003 |
“Once the Iraq thing comes to a crashing halt. There will be great numbers of people who will want to get the hell out of that place.” – Sumotect It Iraq’s “thing” is not at a “crashing halt” now, I’m not sure what else would have to happen; however, you may be correct about people getting out if they can. Has anyone seen any stories about Iraqi immigration being much higher or lower than before? I don’t think the article has it backward. I think it’s explaining only that the population would be dropping (or dropping faster) if not for immigrants and not that the best way to have a prosperous city is to bus in loads of immigrants and sit back to watch the cash start flowing. “Sure, they got the Braves, but it’s a second-rate symphony!” – Dr. Zoidberg What is so great about Atlanta? The immigration/emigration total of 890,000 over 7 years comes to about 348 per day, every day, for seven years. | ||
Nainrouge Member Username: Nainrouge Post Number: 180 Registered: 05-2006 |
If the Iraqi immigrants want to get to the US, they first have to get through immigration. Considering that they have to stand in long lines (which are popular insurgent targets) to get their passports and visas, then you can see why many people are not willing to go through all that. There are very few slots available for Iraqis who want to come to the US and only 466 have been settled since the beginning of the war. Even translators and people who have worked for the US military are having trouble. Meanwhile 1.4 million people have been displaced. I don't anticipate a flood of Iraqi immigrants anytime soon. They are going to neighboring countries such as Syria and Jordan where they are more welcomed. | ||
Richard_saunders Member Username: Richard_saunders Post Number: 71 Registered: 06-2004 |
One of my points for posting the article is that, without immigration, some of these "great" cities would have lost bunches of people, too. Or put differently, for Detroit to be (roughly) holding its own without the benefit of any immigration is pretty good. But wouldn't we agree that there are some economic factors that limit immigration here? I'd bet if we looked it up in better times, immigration into the Metro Detroit area would still be relatively low. | ||
Livernoisyard Member Username: Livernoisyard Post Number: 2952 Registered: 10-2004 |
quote: Another satisfied consumer of DPS? BTW, it's likely not liable. Words do mean things, especially even more so when assembled (correctly) together... Keep up the comic relief. Again, the above quotation is simply more "blown out from somebody's ass" history and economics revisionism--something that happens a lot (everyday for the most part) on DY... It's very difficult to go far with the second- or third-grade educational background of the current immigrant to the US the past decade or so. The small numbers of visas for skilled immigrants is far swamped and dwarfed by the millions of illegal aliens (mostly from Mexico and Honduras). And from Paul Harvey today: Those illegals collect $3 for every $1 they pay for the public services they consume in amounts and numbers that are bankrupting the vital services of many cities unable to cover those costs. (Message edited by LivernoisYard on April 05, 2007) | ||
Perfectgentleman Member Username: Perfectgentleman Post Number: 399 Registered: 03-2006 |
Livernoisyard - You are absolutely right. The illegals from Mexico, most of which are functionally illiterate in terms of speaking and reading English, do outnumber the higher-skilled ones. I find it troubling that even though we all seem to realize how low educational achievement correlates strongly with a lack of job security, low wages, ending up on government aid or going to prison, the left wingers seem to want to import as many poor, uneducated people into the US as possible. As 60% of our federal budget is already spent on entitlement programs (that are going broke), and almost 30% of the state government is spent on Medicaid alone, how does bringing in people who will pay little to support these programs yet will more than likely use them help? | ||
Ladyinabag Member Username: Ladyinabag Post Number: 206 Registered: 03-2007 |
The jobs aren't here anymore either. The automobile industry is having a fuel transition. The bigger cars aren't selling anymore because of the gas prices. I am quasi car shopping. There are lines and lines of 8 cylinder SUV's just sitting at the dealerships waiting to be bought. They won't come down in price so they just sit. I have a friend who just bought a new Ford truck. She said that it costs her $80.00 to fill up the tank. She can't afford this so she uses her old 4 cyl. Forty years ago when gas prices were cheaper, we flourished. Not now. What they need is a four cylinder engine that will get you more than 30,000 miles. | ||
Cheddar_bob Member Username: Cheddar_bob Post Number: 906 Registered: 10-2003 |
quote: No shit? It's hard to believe that somebody from a Spanish-speaking country can't read English. Got any more painfully obvious observations? | ||
Charlottepaul Member Username: Charlottepaul Post Number: 740 Registered: 10-2006 |
One of the better articles on immigration and its relationship to Detroit was written by Dean Vogel at the UDM School of Architecture. It certainly made me take a second look at the idea of it in the context of Detroit. Just read it, it isn't really that long: http://www.modeldmedia.com/fea tures/shrinkage.aspx |
