Struggling Detroiters Repel New Taxes
The High Cost of Police ‘Reforms’
Still under the yoke of bankruptcy, Detroiters yesterday voted down a measure by the city to offset corporate tax breaks with new taxes for residents. Proposal 1 went down in flames, but the city continues to bank empty lots and foreclosed homes for future sale to real estate interests, and 25,000 homeowners face water shutoffs this month.
Abayomi Azikiwe, our correspondent in Detroit, reports.
It’s routine now, especially in the aftermath of particularly egregious conduct by police officers, for public officials and advocates alike to call for “reforms.” But the evidence is showing little, if any, movement on what is widely acknowledged as a national crisis.
Meanwhile, the toll climbs, and African American and Latino communities inordinately bear the brunt of the lethal consequences of police misconduct and excessive use of force.
Leid Stories says these targeted communities not only must press their demands, they should play a leading role in defining and deciding what “reform” means.