Michigan Governor Rick Snyder
The local government of the U.S. city, Flint, Michigan have
come under fire over a water pollution scandal in the
predominantly black and lower income region. People have died
and many made ill, including children, from lead poison in the
local water supply. The government was woefully slow to address
the issue.
Flint, Michigan
The scandal is being accompanied by cries of racism. A
headline in Rolling Stone magazine bluntly blared, "Who poisoned
Flint, Michigan?" The Huffington Post wrote "How Flint's Water
Got Poisonous." The New Yorker wrote "The Contempt That Poisoned
Flint's Water." A quote in the New York Times opined, "If Flint
were rich and mostly white, would Michigan's state government
have responded more quickly and aggressively to complaints about
its lead-polluted water?" Things have gotten so bad the governor
of Michigan, Rick Snyder, was forced to speak to the New York
Times in an article proclaiming, "Michigan Governor Says Race
Had No Role In Flint Water Response."
Instagram post about Flint,
Michigan water crisis (Courtesy of Industry On Blast blog)
It has been my personal view for years that the federal
government has stopped giving a darn about Michigan over the
past decade. The government, both state and federal (national)
allowed Michigan, particularly Detroit, to rot. A city full of
history that has done much for America by way of the auto
industry and Motown in music, has gone largely neglected.
Beautiful buildings and homes bludgeoned by the financial crisis
were bulldozed and turned into parks and other variants of open
spaces, while two administrations in a row spent trillions on
destructive wars in the Middle East (Obama
Could Rebuild American Cities If...).
Photos of Flint, Michigan child
sickened by lead poising, leading to hair loss and rashes
(Courtesy of Industry On Blast blog)
The Judiciary Report petitioned via the site for the auto
industry in Michigan to receive a federal financial bailout and
months later they did, which helped them preserve jobs and stay
afloat during the financial crisis caused by the Bush
Administration and its negligent Laissez Faire policies. The
auto industry has paid back much of the loans. However, the
government still has not done enough to help a state that played
an integral part in the nation's history.
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