Ghost Town

I'm always on the lookout for signs of what American society is becoming.

Ralph Nader has a new article on the economic trends of America.


The Boiling, Surging, Churning and Corporatizing Economy of the United States

Ralph writes, "Among the fastest growing businesses for three decades in America are theme parks, gambling casinos and prisons."

Also, "Citing data from the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University, /New York// Times'/ columnist, Bob Herbert, reports that between 2000 and 2006 the combined real annual earnings of 93 million American workers rose by $15.4 billion. That rise is "less than half of the combined bonuses awarded by the five Wall Street firms for just one year.""

Theme parks, gambling casinos, and prisons, do we see a pattern here? Its almost a 3 step program, from illusion, to addiction, to imprisonment. Forgive my preachiness. And if you are wondering where the middle class dollar is really going.....Wall St. firms?

I was reading from James Howard Kunstler's 'The Geography of Nowhere."
In one chapter, James wrote a brief recent history of the city of Detroit, basically from early to mid 20th century car industrial boom mega-center to late 20th century and present ghost town struggling to revive somehow.

Look through the pictures on these sites to get a sense of some of the Detroit factories that are abandoned. Its fascinating and terrifying, deteriorating hotels, factories, luxury stores and restaurants, stations. Economic forces pushed the people out and away from a once thriving megalopolis, leaving behind massive shells and miles of abandoned housing. Violent riots, a result of this economic upheaval mixed with an ever present racism, occurred in the late 60s.

Detroit Yes Go to tour Detroit.

SEEDETROIT.COM

Shrinking Cities Detroit

Detroit, Demolition, Disneyland

The Detroit riots of 1967