Mayor Bing Moves Forward with Pay Cuts

Detroit Police - Same Beat for Less Pay.

Mayor Dave Bing moved forward yesterday with a series of cuts to the pay and benefits of the City's unionize workforce. While no one in Detroit seemed surprised by this move, I have to confess that I am more than a little disappointed that the Bing Administration did not consider any of the other options for reducing Detroit's budget problems that others, including myself, have proposed.

Quite frankly, it's very unlikely a workforce that has already made multiple concessions even before this, and was making less than their private sector counterparts even before this, will deliver top-notched services to Detroiters. Without those services, it is unlikely that Detroiters will stay in the city and continue to pay taxes that are almost double national averages.

And if/when those Detroiters leave, their tax dollars will go with them. That, in turn, will set the stage for yet another budget crisis in a few months from now. I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that Mayor Bing will want another round concessions from the labor unions then, too.

It's an absolute shame that no one in the Bing Administration is willing to listen to alternative solutions or, better yet, think of a few on their own.