Let’s have some huddled masses already
The Detroit News calls for opening up the Motor City to immigrant homesteaders:
Detroit and other Michigan cities should be actively recruiting immigrants. Detroit is littered with empty houses and storefronts, waiting to be homesteaded by a driven immigrant eager to create his own American dream.
To make that happen, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing should incorporate a pioneering Detroit urban homestead program as part of his 2010 economic development strategy. The city has empty housing and commercial space that can become incentives to young Americans and immigrants willing to move and homestead here.
Certainly Detroit needs the private sector to claim more of its land; the city can no longer afford to maintain acres of abandoned properties. Homesteading is a proven way to make that happen. More than 1.5 million homesteads were privatized between 1862 and 1986, according to government archives.
Detroit needs people, and there are plenty of displaced people from around the world who need a home. Bringing the two together could be a key piece of the city’s revival.
I like the idea. And Aaron Renn has pointed out that Detroit has one distinct advantage: an ineffectual and inefficient municipal government.
If that doesn’t sound promising to you, think again:
In many cities where strong city government still functions effectively, citizens are tied down by an array of regulations and permits that are actually enforced in most cases. Much of the South Side of Chicago has Detroit-like characteristics, but the techniques of renewal in Detroit won’t work because they are likely against code and would be shut down the minute someone complained. Just as one quick example, my corner ice cream stand dared to put out a few chairs for patrons to sit on while enjoying a frozen treat on a hot day. The city cited them for not having a license. So they took them away and put up a “bring your own chair” sign. The city then cited them for that too. You can’t do anything in Chicago without a Byzantine array of licenses, permits, and inspections.
Besides, as the News casually mentions:
In Metro Detroit, immigrants’ impact is particularly strong. They make up 10 percent of the region’s labor force, and they are more likely than native-born Americans to be working.
Emphasis added.
I can’t speak for any other mossbacked xenophobes out there, but I find it difficult to be upset at the sight of immigrants with actual jobs.
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23 December 2009 · 10:32 am
[...] Yockey is a finalist for Grande Conservative Blogress at Gay Patriot – vote for her. The Detroit News calls for opening up the Motor City to immigrant homesteaders: – Dustbury likes the idea and so do I except that from what I have read moving to Michigan [...]
J.S.Bridges »
24 December 2009 · 6:42 am
Outstanding idea – send all those illegals to Detroit (especially since, in the middle of Winter, urban Detroit is SUCH a delightful place!) – the criminals up there are running low on victims, from what I hear…
“Note to various Chambers of Commerce, nationwide: Send more migrant workers – the last lot were delicious! Thanxx! (Signed) The Detroit Goodfellas”