https://www.c-span.org/video/?466933-1/broke
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STARTING NOW, IT’S BOOK TV IN PRIME TIME. IN JUST A MOMENT, THE IMPACT THAT DETROIT’S BANKRUPTCY HAS HAD ON THE CITY’S POOR. THEN VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY… Show Full Text00:00:06
GOOD EVENING, EVERYBODY.00:00:08
GOOD EVENING.00:00:08
THAT’S A GOOD DETROIT RESPONSE FOR C-SPAN. MY NAME IS PETER HAMMER. I’M A PROFESSOR OF LAW AND I DIRECT THE CENTER FOR CIVIL RIGHTS HERE AT WAYNE STATE… Show Full Text00:01:14
HELLO EVERYBODY. THANKS FOR COMING. SO YES, I’M SUSAN MURPHY. I OWN PAGES BOOK SHOP WHICH IS ON GRAND RIVER, RIGHT NEAR WHERE I AM. WE’RE SO HAPPY TO… Show Full Text00:03:34
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. I’M EXCITED AND ALSO HAVE SOME TREPIDATION ABOUT DISCUSSING THIS BOOK FOR YOU. THIS IS YOUR CITY. THIS IS WHAT YOU’VE… Show Full Text00:04:50
YES. I’M CHARLES –00:04:52
I WILL DO IT. YOU STAY THERE. THERE WE GO. SPEAK INTO THE MIC.00:05:02
I’M CHARLES FERGUSON.00:05:04
I’M STEVEN MILES.00:05:09
DO YOU WANT TO SAY ANY MORE? I DON’T WANT TO TALK ABOUT YOU IN YOUR PRESENCE –00:05:15
NOT YET. [LAUGHTER]00:05:18
RIGHT. CORRECT ME IF YOU DON’T LIKE ANY OF THIS, BUT CHARLES IS A LIFELONG DETROITER. HIS FAMILY MOVED HERE FROM THE SOUTH DURING THE GREAT MIGRATION,… Show Full Text00:05:57
ACTUALLY I WILL STAY IN DETROIT.00:06:01
YOU WILL STAY. GLAD TO HEAR IT. AND MILES, MILES I THINK IN A WAY YOU ARE A METAPHOR FOR DETROIT. YOU WERE A CONTRACTOR IN THE LEAD UP TO THE FINANCIAL… Show Full Text00:06:53
SO OFTEN IT’S SOMETHING THAT COME OUT OF NOWHERE. EVERY SO OFTEN. WHEN WE FIRST BOUGHT THE HOUSE, WE LOOKED UP ALL THE TAXES AND EVERYTHING, AND WE… Show Full Text00:07:20
SO YOU ARE BOTH VERY HEROIC, AND I’M SO GRATEFUL TO YOU FOR SPENDING ALL THE TIME TALKING TO ME OVER THE YEARS AND OPENING YOUR LIVES TO ME.00:07:30
WE NEEDED THE STORY TO GET OUT BECAUSE IT IS NOT JUST US. IT’S THOUSANDS OF OTHER PEOPLE THAT WENT THROUGH IT, AND THEY PROBABLY DON’T EVER GET A CHANCE TO… Show Full Text00:08:01
SO THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART FOR ALL OF YOUR TIME AND THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TONIGHT. IT REALLY MEANS A LOT TO ME.00:08:14
WELL, I PERSONALLY THINK ABOUT THE BANKRUPTCY, MUNICIPALITY HAD IN THE CITY OF DETROIT, AND THEY SAID THEY BUILT UP THE MUNICIPALITY, BUT IN THE MEANTIME… Show Full Text00:10:14
SO I HOPE I HAVE BEEN TRUE WITH WHAT YOU’VE ENTRUSTED ME WITH. LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THE OTHER FIVE PEOPLE IN THE BOOK, QUICKLY. ONE IS ROBIN WHO HAS… Show Full Text00:19:24
GIVE HER A QUICK HAND — [APPLAUSE]00:19:25
SO I WANT TO START WITH SORT OF BIG PICTURE QUESTION. WHEN YOU READ THE STORIES IN THE BOOK, AND YOU GET IN THESE STORIES, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE AS A NATIVE… Show Full Text00:21:31
AND DO YOU MEAN PRIMARILY THE HOUSING –00:21:33
HOUSING, SURE.00:21:34
PIECE? IN A WAY, I MEAN, THIS WAS A PURE EXAMPLE OF WHAT BANKRUPTCY CAN’T DO, WHEN YOU BALANCE A BUDGET, YOU DON’T RETURN PROPERTY VALUE THAT WAS LOST. YOU… Show Full Text00:23:54
AND SO WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT, AGAIN, THE LAST DECADE, BUT PUTTING IT IN THAT SORT OF LARGER CONTEXT, THERE ARE SOME DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN WHAT WE SEE HERE… Show Full Text00:24:46
LET ME — LET ME TELL YOU SOME OF WHAT MILES HAS TOLD ME, AND I DON’T WANT TO SPEAK FOR YOU, SO PLEASE JUMP IN AS YOU WANT TO, BUT MILES — MILES HAD… Show Full Text00:25:16
REFINANCE — [INAUDIBLE]. SOME REPAIRS, BRING THE HOUSE UP TO CODE. [INAUDIBLE]. THEN THEY TELL YOU YOU HAVE TO PAY IN A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME OR YOU’RE… Show Full Text00:27:08
BEFORE THAT HAPPENED YOUR PLAN WAS TO BE A LANDLORD AND YOU HAD BOUGHT ANOTHER PROPERTY –00:27:12
I WAS GOING TO BUY ANOTHER HOUSE DOWN THE STREET AND THEN THAT’S WHEN THE PROBLEM STARTED HAPPENING WITH THE WORK AND KEEPING UP MY INCOME, AND THE… Show Full Text00:27:38
AND THE HOUSE THAT YOU WERE ARRANGING FOR THE LANDLORD SITUATION ENDED UP GETTING SET ON FIRE AND BURNED DOWN. YOU ULTIMATELY FOUND A HOUSE THAT WAS… Show Full Text00:28:14
BUT THEN THE ONES THAT DIDN’T FAIL, THEY WOULD PUT BACK ON THE MARKET, AND THEN THEY WOULD SELL IT TO YOU SIX MONTHS BEFORE FORECLOSURE, BUT IT’S LIKE… Show Full Text00:29:01
THIS IS INCREDIBLE. I MEAN, MILES WAS SOLD A HOUSE THAT WAS EFFECTIVELY ALREADY IN TAX FORECLOSURE. HAVING DONE EVERYTHING RIGHT, HAVING GONE DOWNTOWN… Show Full Text00:30:48
SINCE THE FINANCIAL CRISIS CHANGE IN REGULATION AND MORTGAGE LENDERS HAVE FOR BETTER OR WORSE MADE IT MORE EXPENSIVE. YOU WILL SEEYOU’LL SEE THE STORY… Show Full Text00:33:11
WHAT DO YOU DO ABOUT ALL THE PEOPLE THAT LOST THEIR EQUITY THEN WITHIN THE MILE. IN THE HOME OWNERSHIP AND THERE IS THE MAJORITY RENTERS I KNOW THE STATISTICS… Show Full Text00:35:51
DETROIT IS IN THE TOP FIVE ZIP CODES OF PROFITABLE ARRANGEMENTS AMONG THE VERY HEARTBREAKING STORIES THAT I HEARD DURING MY TENURE, IT GETS ME EVERY TIME… Show Full Text00:40:14
IT’S A VERY COMPLICATED QUESTION AND YOU MAY ALL DISAGREE WITH ME, BUT MY READING OF THIS IS THAT DETROIT NEEDS CAPITAL AND A LOT OF THE PROBLEM WAS WITH… Show Full Text00:42:30
NOW YOU ARE00:42:32
NOW YOU ARE ASKING THE REALLY HARD QUESTIONS.00:42:34
IT’S ALWAYS OUT OF OUR REACH. IF YOU HAD TO LIST THE CRITERIA, YOU WOULDN’T NEED THAT, BUT IT COMES WITH A WHOLE BUNCH OF STUFF THAT YOU CAN’T FIT THE CRITERIA. YOU… Show Full Text00:43:12
YOU HAVE A HOUSE AND KNOW HOW TO FIX IT. IT WOULD BE A VERY SMALL AMOUNT OF CAPITAL THAT WOULD ENABLE YOU TO DO THAT. IF YOU COULD DO WHAT YOU HAD PLANNED… Show Full Text00:44:44
I SHOULD REVISE SOME OF WHAT I SAID EARLIER. AND I JUST DID. WITH D. DETROIT IN MANY OTHER CITIES. THEY ARE WRITING FULL-TIME AT THE BANKRUPTCY LAWS AND… Show Full Text00:47:25
THE TITLE I ALWAYS ASK AND THE COVER WHICH I’D HEARD SOME PEOPLE THEY WERE IN LOVE WITH AND IF WAS BEING USED TO REPRESENT THE IMAGE.00:47:45
I TAKE COVERAGE BECAUSE IT HAS A LOT OF MEANINGS THAT WE ARE ALL APPLICABLE IN VARIOUS WAYS. I HAVE TO SAY I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THAT.00:48:03
THAT WAS THE PUBLISHING HOUSE AND THAT WAS THEIR CALL. I’M GOING TO OPEN UP TO QUESTIONS IN A SECOND, BUT I WONDER WHAT YOU SEE AS EASY LOW HANGING FRUIT… Show Full Text00:48:36
I THINK DETROIT NEEDS JOBS FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN LIVING HERE AND THAT IS HARD WORK. THERE IS A TIME I WAS WORKING WITH LOLA AT THE CALL CENTER ANSWERING… Show Full Text00:50:28
HOW DID THEY GET TO WORK IF THEY CAN’T EVEN DRIVE THEIR VEHICLES? HOW WOULD THEY EVEN GET TO WORK? [INAUDIBLE] YOU KNOW CAR INSURANCE HERE HAS COST UPWARDS… Show Full Text00:51:59
THEY ARE NOT NEARLY WHAT I THINK THEY NEED. THEY WILL LOWER THE RATE A LITTLE BIT BUT IT’S STILL SOMETHING THAT NEEDS A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT REFORM. I WANT… Show Full Text00:54:52
HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM CHICAGO AND OTHER MAJOR CITIES AND COULD YOU COMMENT ON THE FACT THAT GM AND CHRYSLER HAD TO BE RESCUED AND HOW BIG OF A PARK DO… Show Full Text00:55:14
ANOTHER SET OF BANKRUPTCIES. THE QUESTION HOW WAS HOW IS IT DIFFERENT IN OTHER CITIES. I WOULD FIRST SAY THAT IN MANY WAYS, DETROIT ISN’T DIFFERENT. I… Show Full Text00:57:41
MY NAME IS GLENDA AND I’M A LONG TIME DETROIT BY WAY OF MOBILE ALABAMA. FIVE YEARS AGO I PURCHASED A HOUSE ON THE LAND BANK I PAID CASH FOR IT. TWO MONTHS… Show Full Text01:02:49
I THINK WHEN HE COMES FROM NEW JERSEY AND IS DELIBERATELY MOVING TO DETROIT AND HAS LOOKED AT SEVERAL CITIES HE SEES AS HAVING MORE OPEN SPACE AND IS EXCITED… Show Full Text01:04:22
SO YOU’VE TOUCHED ON AS FAR AS INVESTMENT AND PEOPLE MOVING INTO JOBS AND HOUSING VALUES AS WELL AS PEOPLE MOVING AWAY AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IMPACTS… Show Full Text01:05:34
BANKRUPTCY FOR CITIES IS NEW. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WASN’T ORIGINALLY IN THE CODE UNTIL WE GOT THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND EVEN THEN IT WASN’T REALLY USED FOR… Show Full Text