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Flint Water Switch Was Not About Cost Savings

At this point, there have been hundreds of articles regarding the narrative surrounding the City of Flint’s State propelled switch to the KWA water system. The disastrous outcome, and the political fallout since that time. All of these articles fail to take into account the context surrounding the switch. Further, the media narrative surrounding the crisis has reinforced itself, with reporters looking for proof regarding certain elements of the Crisis, and taking that evidence to reinforce their initial thought. What report after report fails to take into account is the context surrounding the switch. The ‘reader’s digest’ version of the real story: The State of Michigan OK’d the City of Flint’s existing plans to switch to the KWA water system in order to preserve local autonomy; the cost savings offered by such a switch were questionable. 

Neglected Infrastructure and Vacant Property in Legacy Cities

City infrastructure has received an inordinate amount of attention in the past few months across the State of Michigan. And for good reason; The Flint Water Crisis. The fallout from the crisis has started an open dialogue about the large need for an infrastructure overhaul in Michigan cities across the State. The question about how to pay for this massive overhaul has been on lawmaker’s minds.

Did Google Trends Predict the Flint Water Crisis?

Google trends, an application tied to Google search engine, shows the volume of particular search terms relative to the total search volume across geographic areas. It can show a user what search terms are tending near them at any particular moment, and also show search history for past events. While this is great for hindsight, is it possible to use Google trends as a policy tool as an indicator for local interest in particular issues?

Hard Out There for Michigan Cities: A View from the Revenue Side

Due to a mix of State policies and constitutional arrangements, the State of Michigan sets up cities to be financially fragile.  It should be no suprise then when cities experience severe financial distress or in the case of eight of the States most beleaguered cities, out and out financial emergency.

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