Kirk Lewis is warming to his mayor gig. In perhaps the most financially consequential week Detroit has seen in two generations, the guy playing stand-in for ailing Mayor Dave Bing says any “consent agreement” with the state to stabilize the city’s miserable finances needs to be accompanied by “cash.” Really? Just asking, but where would … Continue Reading →
There’s something faintly nauseating about a president of the United States leaning over to his Russian counterpart to remind him that he just needs to get through his “last election” before he can deal with Russia in, what, terms they will love? You make the call: “After my election I have more flexibility,” the president … Continue Reading →
WIESBADEN, Germany — Our friend Cheryl, a Michigan native who long ago married a German and started a successful business here, was aghast last night. “You’re a one-percenter,” I said, affecting the patois of the disaffected to make my point. “Whatever you have someone gave you, and you need to pay more.” “That’s not true,” … Continue Reading →
You know Detroit’s fiscal crisis has reached the big time when Rev. Jesse Jackson shows up. His cause is predictable and, in theory, understandable: Michigan Public Act 4, the revised emergency manager law that empowers the governor to appoint municipal overseers with the ability to void union contracts, is allegedly anti-democratic (even if it was … Continue Reading →
Give General Motors Co. credit: Its leaders, past and present, know how to kill a brand. Before the Global Financial Meltdown of ’08 sealed the fate of Saab Automobile AB in the soon-to-be-shrinking GM pantheon, the Detroit automaker spent 20 years under-investing in the quirky Swedish marque it acquired in 1990. They beggared interiors; they … Continue Reading →
Can the geniuses on the Wayne County Airport Authority Board do anything right? First, they by-pass qualified outside candidates to offer the job of CEO to County Executive Bob Ficano’s hand-picked successor, Turkia Awada Mullin. Second, the furor over a $200,000 walking-away bonus from the county culminates in the board firing Mullin — without, it … Continue Reading →
When offered an opportunity today to do the right thing, to show union leaders and their members that “management” was willing to take a big hit too, a majority of Detroit City Council said, “No thanks.” A big part of leadership is about symbols and the need to lead by example. That council President Pro-Tem … Continue Reading →
For a political novice, Gov. Rick Snyder shows a keen aptitude for picking his battles — unlike his seasoned counterparts in, say, Ohio and Wisconsin, where frontal assaults on organized labor threaten to derail their agendas and fuel recall efforts. As much as a push to make Michigan a right-to-work state might speed the Big … Continue Reading →
With less than 24 hours before Gov. Rick Snyder is likely to order a “preliminary financial review” for the cash-strapped city of Detroit, a City Council meeting with union leaders appears to be devolving into another predictable round of the blame game. “It’s giving away the city,” Council Member Joanne Watson thundered, according to a … Continue Reading →
A prominent CEO in town recently told me the story of running into Barbara McQuade, U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Michigan, at an event. Unbidden, the CEO turned to McQuade and said something akin to “thanks for what you’re doing.” Meaning, the feds’ unmistakable forward lean on public corruption (and the appearance of … Continue Reading →