June 12, 2009

About the worst idea I have seen in a long long time

Stupid politician -- no biscuit! From the UK Telegraph:
US cities may have to be bulldozed in order to survive
The government looking at expanding a pioneering scheme in Flint, one of the poorest US cities, which involves razing entire districts and returning the land to nature.

Local politicians believe the city must contract by as much as 40 per cent, concentrating the dwindling population and local services into a more viable area.

The radical experiment is the brainchild of Dan Kildee, treasurer of Genesee County, which includes Flint.

Having outlined his strategy to Barack Obama during the election campaign, Mr Kildee has now been approached by the US government and a group of charities who want him to apply what he has learnt to the rest of the country.
Dan Kildee, you are a moron. Worse than a moron. Granted the housing market is still very much up in the air these days but there is an incredible need for low cost housing. Here is what I would do. You are going to have to claim ownership of these properties anyway in order to demolish them. How about this; how about giving the houses away to families with the stipulation that they live in them for a minimum of five years. Demolishing a house is an expensive proposition considering that this idiot is talking about returning the land to a park-like condition. Now that we have given the family the house for free, how about taking the demolition money and do two things: #1) - set up a free hands-on house remodeling school with tool bank and #2) - provide each homeowner with $10K in credit at a nearby Lowes or Home Depot. I would start with the people still clinging to their post-Katrina FEMA trailers in Louisiana -- but they are all George Bush's fault... Posted by DaveH at June 12, 2009 8:24 PM
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