The financial crisis in Detroit has become increasingly complex. The county judge just ordered the city to withdraw its bankruptcy filing saying it is unconstitutional.
Krystal Crittendon, former top lawyer for the city of Detroit and candidate for the 2013 mayoral election, agrees with the judge’s charge. She explains to msnbc’s Alex Witt that “the path that we are going down with this bankruptcy and this emergency management here in the state of Michigan is not the answer. We need to make some structural changes to the way city government operates.”
In fact, she adds, the implications of bankruptcy will not manifest themselves right away.
Crittendon breaks down the reasons for Detroit’s financial crisis and provides solutions to some of the problems. She attributes many of the problems plaguing her city such as the unemployment rate, abandoned homes, slow emergency response times, and ineffective traffic lights to the people in charge of the services not doing their jobs.
She explains that Detroit suffers from a collection problem. The city does not collect the money it is owed with many of the wealthy people who conduct business with Detroit not paying their fair share of taxes and other obligations. Those in charge must realize that the people responsible for collecting money have been laid off. The city should, in turn, employ people who collect and generate money. To manage and lead Detroit’s recovery, she says that her city “needs to have a mayor in place who is going to put the people in those key positions who know how to get the money, who know what to do and who know how to make the changes we need to make to make the city a viable and financially solvent city.”
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