Michigan’s state colonial mandate imposition ‘Public Act 4’ has been a major disaster for majority Black cities - an ‘economic tsunami’ massively washing away jobs and municipal assets. Colonialism is the forced establishment, maintenance, acquisition, and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory.
Several majority Black cities in Michigan suffering from disaster capitalism deindustrialization are currently subjected to colonial administrative Emergency Managers appointed by Republican governor Rick Snyder. Superseding elected officials and legislature, the emergency manager under Public Act 4 can autocratically eliminate programs, lay off workers, void contracts, including those made with labor unions, privatize services, and sell off assets.
The cities and one school district under the control of an Emergency Manager are Benton Harbor, Ecorse, Flint, Pontiac, and the Detroit Public Schools. This is the second time around for Ecorse which was in State receivership for 13 years. This is also the second time for Flint, which had an ‘Emergency Financial Manager’ from 2002-2006. The cities of Detroit and Inkster and Benton Harbor Public Schools could soon be added to this list. If Detroit is appointed an Emergency Manager, half of African-Americans in Michigan will be living in cities run by EMs.
As Blacks it is important to recognize the history of this state’s colonial intervention financial emergency policies like Public Act 4 have developed over many decades. In December 1986, the Wayne County Circuit Court issued a court order appointing Louis Schimmel receiver for the bankrupt City of Ecorse devastated by deindustrialization two square miles just south of Detroit. On August 1, 1999 Schimmel's autocratic reign including being the official ‘monitor’ ended in Ecorse; Schimmel is the current Emergency Manager over the City of Pontiac.
The current situation of majority Black cities being under an autocratic Emergency Manager began over 25 years ago is rooted in massive auto plant closings. This deindustrialization process began in Pontiac in 1979 when over 30,000 auto jobs were loss; a loss of over 100,000 jobs in Flint; and the loss of over 250,000 jobs in Detroit, Highland Park, and Ecorse – majority Black cities – resulting in a rippling effect of municipal deficits and de-population. When a city loses industry, businesses, and people, it loses revenue – becomes deficit-ridden.
Right wing conservative legislators understood the de-industrialization producing economic plight on these majority Black cities, and formulated a plan – a policy to repress, exploit, and destroy. Racist policy-makers and politicians here in Michigan understood due to globalization that majority Black cities would not rebound economically nor were they going to assist these cities mired in economic downturns.
By 1987, the Michigan Legislature started to write up a method of exercising state power over distressed majority Black cities and the bill that would become Public Act 101 of 1988 was brought to the State Senate floor, spearheaded by the future Governor and Lieutenant Governor duo: John Engler and Dick Posthumus. This bill set up a state colonial intervention process personified by the Emergency Financial Manager position, which was modeled after Schimmel’s receivership in Ecorse. Moreover this bill ideologically represented a continuation of the white conservative backlash against Black civil rights under the guise of the State’s Treasury Department.
For years the conservative Mackinac Center for Public Policy has urged reforms to Michigan law giving more power and protection to Emergency Financial Managers, state-appointed officials who parachute into ailing post industrial majority Black cities with a colonial austerity mandate. In January 2005, Mackinac published four recommendations by Louis Schimmel an adjunct scholar with the Center to make changes to Public Act 72. Including granting emergency managers the power to override elected officials (such as a mayor or school board member) and toss out union contracts. All four ended up in Snyder's Public Act 4 legislation.
Schimmel’s amendments to Public Act 72 were as follows:
1. Under current law, the EFM can be sued personally. Given that actions by an EFM will almost certainly be controversial, and harassing lawsuits are likely, it is essential that an EFM’s personal assets be protected. Making the EFM an employee of the state treasury department with access to the legal staff of the attorney general would make the present lack of indemnification for an EFM largely moot. Harassing lawsuits by local bargaining units or other affected entities or individuals would be defended by the state — an entity that has the depth of financial resources to discourage the filing of frivolous lawsuits.
2. The present Act lists the powers of an EFM, which are extensive but are not all-inclusive. This can allow the governing body to impede the overall effort of the EFM to deal with the municipality’s fiscal crisis. The Act should state that the EFM replaces and takes on the powers of the governing body (mayor and council or school board.)
3. Charter provisions, especially in old charters, can prevent or make it difficult for an EFM to make necessary structural changes to address financial problems. The EFM should have the power to review charter provisions that frustrate the process of cleaning up and streamlining a municipality’s financial functions.
4. Presently, most labor contracts provide for mandatory continuation of an expired contract until a new one is negotiated. This means municipalities have no opportunity to take advantage of lower-cost service providers. Additionally, in the case of public safety unions, municipalities must adhere to the provisions of Act 312, which mandates that when a municipality and union cannot agree on the terms of a new contract they must go to binding arbitration. In most cases, it takes nearly two years or longer to complete the process, and the legal costs are substantial. Furthermore, municipalities rarely reduce costs by going through the Act 312 process but rather, at best, limit the amount of increased expenses. Act 312 should be repealed in its entirety.
So you see, Schimmel is the originator - ‘god-father’ of the Emergency Manager. You see folks, Public Act 101, Public Act 72, and Public Act 4 were never designed to save economically troubled majority Black cities. These Public Acts were developed to seize and sell, that is why these Acts are under the Michigan Treasury Department!
I want to end by highlighting some points:
Black folks as I mentioned earlier the evolution of the Emergency Manager Public Act bills are rooted in de-industrialization, the massive plant closings that took place in the late 1970’s and early 80’s. Ecorse went bankrupt because Great Lakes Steel closed down large sections of its Plant and laid off large numbers of workers.
Here in Pontiac, GM shut down 90 percent of its plants, there were 11 plants here – now only one (the Power train) there are no cars and trucks produced in Pontiac. These plant closing resulted in a huge loss of revenues to this City, with no jobs individuals and families left in large numbers – depopulation. When families left, their children left the Pontiac School District.
Coupled with Charter Schools and Schools of Choice, have cause a deficit ridden School District; deficit ridden school districts in deficit ridden majority Black cities are also being placed under Emergency Managers. Case in point is the Detroit Public Schools where over 100 schools have been closed.
Highlighting depopulation, according to the 2010 census data – Detroit’s population is 714,000 people. It has less people than Charlotte, North Carolina. Detroit has lost over 200,000 people the last decade alone.
Folks De-industrialization, De-population, and Deficits – the 3 Big D’s are a result of Globalization, the global impact on the American economy. Majority Black cities in Michigan are being punished by being placed under Emergency Managers due to an economic crisis that we did not create nor can we control!
Black folks in Michigan are being punished for Disaster Capitalism –deindustrialization. No different than Blacks in New Orleans were punished for the “Disaster” of Hurricane Katrina.
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