The Dead City
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5/15/2010
Jackson was (and I repeat, was) a manufacturing community built upon the successes of the big three. At one time, it had a handful of suppliers that employed thousands of people in the area. Now, Jackson is filled with blight and decay, and most everybody remaining in Jackson is in denial on the truth of what is happening. The retirees are the only people who own homes in Jackson, as most working adults make slave wages in a town that only supplies retail jobs. Consumers, the state prison, and Allegiance health are the only employers that would pay a wage capable of paying a mortgage, but don't hold your breath, these jobs are filled from within and are highly prized as most people know POVERTY is rampant in Jackson, and if you do not work at one of these employers, you most likely are very poor.
The city government (as noted by others) does not care about its residents, it is ran by a group of individuals who have ancient conservative views, and care not about the future of their city, only that they have a good paying job. Jackson has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, one of the lowest High School graduation rates, and one of the highest teen birth rates. It is fueled by hopelessness among young adults, which in Jackson, to be young is to be in poverty. Most factory workers have had to resort to minimum wage factory jobs after being ousted from assembly positions, leaving young adults out of the loop. Jackson is a horrible place to live, but it has people who care about the community, unfortunately this does nothing when it is ran by tyrants and liars.
Jackson will shrink to a township in the next 5 years, and then to a village, its only a matter of time before it is vacated. Jackson is truly a model of failure in all aspects, a reminder of what the modern economy is really about.
John | Bloomfield Hills, MI