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Flint, Michigan (last updated September 21, 2004)
In order to bring attention to domestic economic issues, Fahrenheit 9/11 focused on Flint, Michigan, a city that is Michael Moore's hometown and that has continued to face hard times since Moore's 1989 movie Roger and Me, in which he called attention to the effects suffered because of General Motors' job cuts.
Flint was where automobile giant General Motors was born in 1903 and prospered along with the company for many years. But when General Motors faced problems in the 1980s, losing market share and cutting production, Flint began to suffer a fall that has in large part continued to the present day.
General Motors employment in the Flint area has dropped dramatically since the mid-1980s, not only due to General Motors' problems but also newer technology and fewer GM-made auto parts. According to reports in the Detroit Free Press, the number of jobs fell from about 76,000 in 1978 to about 62,600 in 1985 to about 33,000 in 1997 and to about 19,000 in 2002. General Motors also moved its headquarters out of Flint to Detroit in the late 1990s.
The loss of jobs in General Motors has contributed to high unemployment rates in the area and particularly in Flint. Unemployment rates have been well above statewide and national rates for many years, regularly twice or three times the national rate.
"Little appears to have improved since" Roger and Me, the New York Times reported in July 2002. "Though downtown is lively enough, the city's problems can be seen just beyond, where decaying factories create an ominous industrial ghost town in some areas. Abandoned apartment buildings, houses and businesses, along with the occasional prostitute, line the north end of Saginaw Street, a main thoroughfare."
The loss of jobs also meant a loss in tax revenue, putting a strain on the city government and helping result in political upheaval in 2002.
In March 2002, Mayor Woodrow Stanley, who had been elected to a third term in 1999, was removed from office in a recall election. The recall election was driven by people seeking new financial management, though some cast the election in racial terms (Stanley is African-American and reportedly called his removal "Mississippi treatment of an African-American leader").
About a week later, Michigan's Senate passed a resolution noting that Flint faced about $28 million in debt, a figure almost half its revenues. Governor John Engler then appointed a team to review Flint's finances. In May 2002, that team found that a financial emergency existed in Flint and that the city did not have a satisfactory plan to resolve the problem. Engler agreed with the findings and recommended the appointment of an emergency financial manager to take control of the city's operations.
A legal battle ensued over whether it was proper for the state to appoint a financial manager. A local court ruled in July 2002 that the state action violated separation of powers, but an appellate court overruled the decision a month later.
Over the next year, Flint took steps to reduce its budget deficit and to begin paying down its debt.
Nonetheless, the Flint metropolitan area continues to suffer a weak economy. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Flint metropolitan area had a 9.7 percent unemployment rate in 2003, coming in 318th out of 331 metropolitan areas nationwide. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, Genesee County (where Flint is located) had 14.3 percent of its population living below the poverty level, ranking 54 out of 233 ranked counties. The city of Flint alone had a 16.5 percent unemployment rate for 2003.
Sources: Unemployment data was retrieved using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' website on-line here. Doron P. Levin, G.M.'s company town goes on downhill drive, New York Times, November 24, 1989. Ted Evanoff, GM's modern tale of two cities, Lansing looks at the best of times, Flint the worst, Detroit Free Press, June 29, 1999. Shawn Windsor, Flint sacks mayor, Detroit Free Press, March 6, 2002. News release, Governor recommends emergency financial manager for Flint, July 8, 2002. Danny Hakim, For Flint, Mich., takeover adds to the list of woes, New York Times, July 10, 2002.
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