Detriot:- 1st of the Industrail Ghosts !

[FRED]

Re: Detriot:- 1st of the Industrail Ghosts !

This loss was personal to me. I worked at the US Steel Braddock Works summers during my college years. Even then (1964, 1965) you could see problems developing.

Thanks for sharing that data point. The timescale issue is important.

Sudden collapses do happen, but more commonly they are gradual affairs.

Symbols of prosperous and modern times can persist for decades in a region that is dependent on specific industries, then fade and never return.

The towns fade with the industries. It's an old story.





Did the people who lived in these places see it coming?

How long did the process take?

Were the stages of regional collapse identifiable?

Was there some point after which there was no turning back? The exodus of money became self-reinforcing?

Can this happen to the industries of the FIRE Economy and the towns that depended on them?

Picture taken inside Lehman Bros. data center

Over what period of time?

Does it start like this, or are recent store closings in NY and NJ a temporary setback?

If the FIRE Economy does not recover, and no new significant industry arises to take its place, what's to keep this...

...from eventually turning into this?

How long do we have before the process develops its own momentum? A year? Two? More?

[Mega]

Re: Detriot:- 1st of the Industrail Ghosts !

Good point Ed

I think back to the end of the 70's and even as a young teenager i could smell decay. You knew "Something" was coming to end. Labour had tried to shore up just about everything............but by 79 it all came crashing down in ONE massive collaspe.

I think that's the key, either it drifts away bit by bit or because of a Goverment the "Dam" bursts suddenly.

Mike

[LargoWinch]

Re: Detriot:- 1st of the Industrail Ghosts !

I posted this clip before...quite revealing.

Could Hamilton and Oshawa, ON be the next Detroit? Well, Windsor is pretty darn close already so...

[don]

Re: Detriot:- 1st of the Industrail Ghosts !

I'm just finishing up a book entitled Dialectical Urbanism . It's a well-documented treatise on recent (pre-bubble collapse) urban dynamics. Case studies are from Baltimore, Liverpool, L.A., and New York. (Braddock would have been an interesting addition) It's a lefty's take but if you agree that those commanding the heights limit information and those outside the power circles use clarity as a weapon of choice, there's something to be gained, even for an urban investor :cool:

The author is Andy Merrifield

[D-Mack]

Re: Detriot:- 1st of the Industrail Ghosts !

This loss was personal to me. I worked at the US Steel Braddock Works summers during my college years. Even then (1964, 1965) you could see problems developing.

I read a book where the author was talking about the 1957 recession, he mentioned that GM used only 50% of the steel in 1958 models used in 1956 models. It was more profit for GM, but less for the steel industry and bad for the safety of the driver.

[ThePythonicCow]

Re: Detriot:- 1st of the Industrail Ghosts !

50% of the steel in 1958 models used in 1956 models

I wonder if that might explain in part why '57 Chevy's are so well thought of. The '58 Chevy's fell apart.