Flint, USA, suffered from public service crisis one after another and was in depression.
On August 1st, Flint, Michigan, USA, announced the suspension of garbage collection services in the whole city because the new contract of service providers has not been finalized, which caused the city to fall into a new crisis after the water crisis. Although on the second day, the city urgently reached a temporary agreement with the original service provider Republican Service Company, the economic and financial difficulties faced by Flint once again attracted attention.
Flint, who didn’t collect garbage, suffered from "shutdown" of public services.
In June this year, the mayor of Flint, Weaver, proposed to replace the new garbage disposal service provider in the city for financial reasons, but this move was rejected by the city Council. Later, Weaver vetoed the decision of the city Council, and the city government and the parliament turned into a "tug-of-war". Finally, the two sides went to court.
However, before the court ruled, the contract between the city and the current garbage disposal service company expired at the end of July, so the garbage collection service stopped on August 1. Flint residents can only "store their garbage at home". This triggered the anger of the people in Flint.
Although the city urgently agreed with the current garbage disposal service company, it will continue to provide garbage collection services during the transition period. However, there will still be delays in the recent garbage disposal.
Flint: The birthplace of General Motors used to be the "Automobile City"
Flint, Michigan, the birthplace of American automobile giant General Motors, is called "Motor City" together with Detroit. But in the 1980s, the automobile industry began to withdraw from Flint, and the city also declined rapidly.
At present, the unemployment rate in Flint is 13.9%, which is twice the average level in the United States, and the per capita income is less than $15,000, which is only half the average level in the United States. More than 40% of the city’s population lives below the poverty line, and the crime rate remains high, ranking "the most dangerous city in the United States".
In 2014, in order to save the government’s public expenditure, the Flint municipal government decided to abandon the Detroit water supply system and take water from the local flint river, which eventually led to the serious lead content in tap water consumed by 100,000 local residents.
Economic and financial difficulties, many cities in the United States are facing a crisis of decline
In fact, Flint is not a case. There is a well-known "rust zone" in the United States. The "rust zone" refers to the area where industry once flourished and now it has declined. In the United States, the Great Lakes region belongs to such a "rust zone", and Flint is located here.
The "rust zone" in the United States used to be the gathering place of old industrial areas, but now, many cities are facing the difficulties of old infrastructure and economic and public services. When talking about this topic, I have to mention Detroit, the "city of bankruptcy".
Detroit: the scenery is infinite to bankruptcy protection
As the three major automobile companies in the United States — — Detroit, the home base of GM, Ford and Chrysler, became synonymous with American cars as early as 100 years ago. However, due to the single industrial structure, with the decline of the American automobile industry and the migration of production bases, Detroit went into decline.
△ Detroit (data map, from the network)
In July 2013, Detroit filed for bankruptcy protection because of its debt exceeding 18 billion US dollars, becoming the largest city in the United States to file for bankruptcy protection.
In 2014, the total population of the city has dropped to 700,000, and as many as 40% of the houses in the city have been abandoned. At the same time, the unemployment rate and crime rate have soared, and education and public service facilities have declined. Some people joked that an Apple mobile phone can buy a suite in Detroit.
Cleveland: manufacturing base to the most miserable city
Cleveland, Ohio, used to be the transportation center and steel manufacturing base of the United States. In the 1950s, it had a population of more than 900,000, but after that, the manufacturing industry encountered bottlenecks and the city gradually declined.
At present, Cleveland has a population of less than 400,000, of which African Americans account for 44%; The crime rate here is very high, with more than 100 murders every year. In 2010, Forbes magazine published the list of the "most miserable cities" in the United States, and Cleveland ranked first.
Chicago: The next Detroit?
Chicago, a third-party big city in the United States, started from the steel industry and manufacturing industry. However, in the 1970s, the steel industry was depressed and manufacturing enterprises moved out, and Chicago constantly encountered challenges. In recent years, Chicago is facing the pressure that the government cannot make ends meet and the huge deficit is difficult to resolve.
Statistics show that in 2015, Chicago’s budget deficit reached 1 billion US dollars, about 6 billion yuan. In order to control government spending, Chicago even raised the charges for 911 calls. Many people say that if Chicago can’t solve the financial crisis, it is likely to be dragged down by huge debts and become the second Detroit.