Posted on 10/08/2009 10:13:55 AM PDT by SkyPilot
Detroit -- The lure of federal cash assistance for needy Detroit families sparked pandemonium Wednesday at Cobo Center, as hundreds of city residents pushed, jostled and trampled others in a rush to apply for the aid.
In a scene that spoke volumes about the despair of one of the nation's poorest cities, about 50,000 Detroiters descended on downtown to pick up 5,000 applications in hopes of enrolling in a federal program that pays a few hundred to a few thousand dollars to low-income residents to help pay rent and utilities.
In fact, some 60,000 residents applied for the aid over two days, although the city will only be able to help about 3,400 families.
Wednesday's line stretched for blocks and before the process could be completed at least six people were taken away by ambulance, 150 police were called to the scene and the city stopped distributing applications before noon.
The mayhem seemed to reflect the desperation of a city in which one in three lives in poverty and 28.7 percent are unemployed. Others said it was exacerbated by rumors the government was literally handing out cash. It wasn't.
Karen Dumas, a spokeswoman for Mayor Dave Bing, acknowledged the rumors, calling them "totally untrue." Dumas added: "There is a process."
Walt Williams, 51, arrived at Cobo before sunrise to get a good spot for the 10 a.m. opening of the doors. "This morning, I seen the curtain pulled back on the misery," a bewildered Williams said.
"People fighting over a line; people threatening to shoot each other -- is this what we've come to?"
(Excerpt) Read more at newstin.co.uk ...
Why don’t they use the money to generate some real jobs in Detroit? Or is that just wishful thinking?
We are forced to spend money to deal with problems that were the creation of liberal thinking in the first place.
That’s terrible, looks like scenes from `Soylent Green.’
Don't know. I suspect we'll be hearing it elsewhere like on FNC. Don't count on it being on MSNBC.
Please note, these people were not lining up to work.
Look at all the pics - no one starving in any one of them.
EBT buys a lot of junk food.
And now, we have commercials for “SNAP”, some new “nutrition” program. Same deal - lots of pop and cheetos.
Get used to it...wealth redistribution before your very eyes.
James is hoping to get a few bucks to get his cell phone turned back...and buy some smokes and rum.
Unfortunately it came out of MY budget...the one where little Elizabeth’s college funding was going to come from...or where MY mortgage payment comes from.
Absolutely disgusting.
“wealth redistribution” my ass.
All of the policies coming out of this admin are de facto reparations.
.....a picture that’s worth a thousand words.....
I wan’ me summa dat free money, man!
“Great Society”, part deux
“Some 60,000 residents over two days applied for federal assistance”
Uh-huh... Not ONE bus from Chicago or Philadelphia?
Also note the woman in yellow. She has enough money for a full set of acrylic nails.
Detroit has officially collapsed, like some sci fi flick soon to be followed by Oakland, Philly, and New Orleans.
I wonder how many of them would have lined up for a job.
That’s the first thing I thought of when I read this story. I remember that man quoted in the Times-Dispatch...”It looked like the last chopper out of Saigon.”(or something to that effect).
So, there was $15M in Porkulus for this “project.” They only have money for 3,400 and each family would get $3,000. So ~1/3 of the pork was skimmed by administration?
Do you think Obama would let 56,000 dem voters go home disillusioned with him? What is that? $2.4B to give them all a piece of candy so they vote again?
Sickening.
We cleaned out one of our satellite offices not too long ago.
Place had a warehouse in it, that had been a dumping ground for * JUNK * for who knows how many years.
Some stuff needed to be shredded. Some stuff really was junk (newspapers, empty boxes, etc etc) and it went in the dumpster.
BUT....most of it got hauled off by the local scavengers. Old filing cabinets, pieces of cubicle and old worn out chairs? Sure, that makes some sense. But Shattered Monitors (not broken, shattered. Think "Hammer through the front glass")? Computers that were old in the 90s, and didn't have a hope of turning on? no sense at all.
There was a box of empty Pringles potato chip cans. Must have been dozens of them, for some long-forgotten project..... Guy hauls it off, says "Well, it's good for something!".
It was fine by me, I figure it saved a couple of dumpsters worth of tipping fees.
Palpable evidence of a complete lack of respect for property and ownership:
I wouldn’t even THINK of using someone else’s car, let alone a POLICE car to fill out a form.
But then I’m not part of a priveleged, protected class
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