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such a post-apocalypse look. Crazy

KVR said
Jon your from there, what are your thoughts on what caused detroits downfall, auto unions? local govt?

[Begins down rabbit-hole]

 I don't know if any one group can be blamed individually what Detroit became. It was a bunch of things that were ignored for far too long, and one day we woke up and things were set in motion that it was too late to reverse.

Certainly, unions played a part in the demise of the motor city; the demands they made were ridiculous and unsustainable. However, due to the “protections” of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, the big 3 automakers simply went with whatever the UAW demanded because it was easier than fighting them. Having said that, the big 3 are not innocent either; like so many companies, they never planned ahead or gave a moment's thought to what they would do if real competition entered the market (for more info, read this article on W. E. Deming and how U.S automakers originally rejected the model that made Japanese cars great). Throw in a long history of Detroit city government and police corruption, racial tensions, and an economy based on one single industry, and it was inevitable. When the American auto industry began globalizing and decentralizing (to control costs), the one pillar that was holding up Detroit crumbled, causing reverberations throughout Michigan's economy.