Recession and Depression :)

Detroit was hit hard by both the Great Depression and the 2008 Recession. Detroit is know as the motor capitol of America and gained most of it's wealth from the manufacturing of cars during the early 1900's gifting it the name 'Motown'

This is an image of a Hooverville in Detroit during the 1930's. Being a huge motoring city, before the Great Depression the city saw great opportunity for people to work for the car companies, but during the Great Depression many people had to be laid off because no one was buying cars. The mayor of the city, Frank Murphy, stated that 'No one would go hungry" and set up soup kitchens. When a new mayor, Frank Couzens came in it in 1933, it all went to pot. The city was spending too much on welfare and receiving too little in tax to pay teachers and police officers. However, Couzens balanced the budgets later on.

This is a picture of Detroit in 2008. The buildings you can see are those of the old city and the big building is the General Motor headquarters. General motor was bailed out by Obama's Government in a attempt to boost American trade in the wake of the recession. Many thought that this move would help rebuilt the city of Detroit that had been slowly 'crumbling' since the late 1950's. How ever this photo clearly shows that nothing has really changed. 36% of the population live in poverty and the city is running at a $365m deficit. The saviour of GM was clearly one that doesn't help the people of Detroit, yet helps those at the top.