What Pittsburgh (Don’t Laugh) Can Teach Obama

Give it a break Fineman and everyone else for that matter. Obviously, you have love for your city, just as most people love where they actually reside. Detroit is suffering from a tempest of dispraise that in some respects is unwarranted. Yes, Detroit is suffering. There is room for improvement (a whole lot of improvement) and the state of Michigan for that matter. However, Detroit has what it takes to be first class city again: infrastructure (water system), housing stock, natural resources (border with this country's largest trading partner), and a ctizenry (despite the borderline racist characterizations constantly being employed to caricature Detroiters) that is as gritty, and prideful as they come. For those who want to continually question the intellect or pride of the city's residents, I challenge you to stop in any number of restaurants up and down Woodward Ave. and spark a socio-politico conversation. I'm certain you'll quickly discover just how myopic your perspectives are. In the end though, people respond to economic imperatives and incentives...just as Pittsburgh, Chicago, and any other hosts of cities that experienced such dire straits. The federal government is not the answer, however there is much the government can do to provide incentives for and support to cities like Detroit that are suffering from the recalibration of the U.S. economy.

As someone who has lived in Detroit for the last 51 years (by choice) I can tell you that this comparison is indeed not fair. While the devestating effects of white flight are painfully obvious everywhere, what we have now is upper and middle-class black flight as well. While there are still small "villages" within Detroit where some of us persevere, I'd bet that 600,000 of Detroit's remaining population of 900,000 is funtioinally illiterate. Education, among black youth, is viewed as a requisite evil and not as a means to an end: Forr all too many, evil itself is now their menas to an end. Until this mind-set changes, things in Detroit will only get progressively worse.

A number of writers on this site make very good points. I appreciate Howard Fineman's work in general, but I think he's off-base on a number of issues. Firstly, I don't think you can compare either the cities (Detroit and Pittsburgh) nor their primary industries (automobiles and steel, respectively). Anyone who was old enough in 1967 remembers the terrible riot in Detroit in 1967, in which 43 people died and 1187 were injured. The city literally has not recovered from that summer 42 years ago. Do we still want to point a finger at the few people who initiated that riot with everything bad that has happened in Motown since then? I think most people would admit that the big U.S. automaker executives made some big mistakes over the years. But anyone who reads automotive periodicals or websites knows that American quality has increased substantially in the last few years. If you don't agree with that, I certainly understand that you won't purchase an American vehicle. But while the American manufacturers have continued to rise in ratings such as J.D. Power, Toyota has had its quality problems, including major engine sludge problems and trucks that rust out underneath. Further, the average MPG of U.S.-based manufacturers continues on the rise, whereas the figures for Toyota and Honda have dropped, in large part because of the huge trucks that those manufacturers have added.

Some on the right blame unions, but they tend to overlook that fact that Japanese manufacturers have been subsidized right along, and that Toyota's hybrid Synergy drive was developed as a partnership between industry and the Japanese government.

Further, as HalcyonBlue points out, Detroit has a population of 837,000 (it was once over 2 million) while Pittsburgh has a population of less than 300,000. Pittsburgh, being a smaller city, was able to diversify its economy more quickly, where Detroit, which once depended almost exclusively on the auto industry, was more like a large ship that could not possibly change its course quickly. In that comparison, Pittsburgh was much more like South Bend, which was a model of diversification when Studebaker ceased its operations there in 1964.

Bull. Fineman in his zealotry to dismiss federal guidance keeps alive the right wing mantra of "the government is the problem" bull. Pittsburgh would not have had a revival without strong state and federal leadership, guidance and financial support. The former J&L Steel mill was acquired, contaminents removed, infrastructure installed - guess how? With a significant slug of state and federal financial and technical guidance. I didn't hear many Pittsburghers complain that the federal bureaucrats were too intrusive in this process. Yes, a slag dump in the City's Squirrel Hill neighborhood was cleaned and safely converted into a new urbanism residential neighborhood. A polluted stream was also cleaned up as part of this project. Guess how? With significant federal and state financial and technical guidance. So, beware of Fineman's easy answer that "government is the problems". Like many other sound bite zealots, he misses the nuance of how a region can be transformed with the appropriate involvment and support from our government. From a lifetime Pittsburgh resident.......

Pittsburgh is a republican city? HA!! I was born here and I'll probably die here. And if you knew anyone FROM here, you'd have heard this a thousand times before: If Jesus Christ himself ran for mayor as a republican, he wouldn't get a single d@mned vote.

This is a city where hard work and integrity count. And it's also a place where greed won't earn you a single friend.

There isn't one person from this city who doesn't have a parent or grandparent that knows about hard times. And when times were hard, your friends and neighbors looked out for you. Nobody around here is going to let their neighbors starve to save a few bucks on their taxes.

Which brings me to another point... Someone mentioned how Braddock is suffering today? Braddock is a great example of what makes this city so wonderful. John Fetterman is out there busting his @ss trying to turn that place around by bringing in artists and business and fostering a sense of community.

Yeah, you may visit once a month and think you know what's going on, but brother, you're only looking skin deep.

I can't believe that some fool would make a statement along the lines of "Pittsburgh is a republican city."

I was born here, I've spent my life here, and I'll probably die here. And there's one thing I can say with certainty -- and if you actually knew anyone from here, you've heard the EXACT same words come out of their mouths -- If Jesus Christ himself ran for mayor of Pittsburgh as a republican, he wouldn't get a single d@mned vote.

Credit for Pittsburgh's survival should also be given to the late Mayor Richard Caligiuri, who began the transition from manufacturing to eds and meds, at a time when every other politician was trying to hang onto the past, including every Washington politican.

It will be difficult indeed for Detroit, without a world-class institution the likes of Carnegie Mellon, to follow the ed/med pathway. Detroit suffers from a paucity of undergraduate and graduate institutions that reflect the decades of dependency on easy, high-paying jobs that did not require such. We are decades away from even approaching what Pittsburgh has on that score.

At least Pittsburgh is in touch with reality. Detroit still has division between suburbia and the inner city. Suburbs are just plain out stupid thinking that what happened in the inner city won't happen to them. It won't be until the suburbs of Detroit are just as much of a slum if not worse than the inner city that anyone will really pay any attention. Detroit has its head in the sand; what is happening there is going on for a very good reason ...

Viva la Pittsburgh! I'm a native, and I think what makes Pittsburgh great is that culturally it's half way between a metropolis like New York, and a very small town you might find in the midwest. It's got a sense of community, and continuity, but it's also a serious business center. Basically, it's a REAL place - whereas bigger cities are more about having a glamorized image, and smaller towns are less self-reliant in terms of industry. Am very proud they'll be hosting the G20! It's amazing. I hope protesters don't destroy any part of the city...

I was born in 10 miles east of the city in what is known as the Monongahela Valley. My father was a Steel Worker for 33 years before he finally managed to retire. What everyone needs to understand is that Pittsburgh is STILL struggling for survival decades after the steel industry collapse of the 70's and 80's. I lived through it. My family lived through it. I go visit my parents there every month and see the devastation that still exists. Places like Braddock and Homestead that are mostly barren of life. Braddock was once one of the most vibrant towns in the valley. As I child I remember that's where we did all of our shopping. It was a beautiful town. Today, it is dead. Homestead is the same. People, like me, had to leave to get a life and a career. I was fortunate enough to get loans and pay for my own college education, the first in my family's history. Most are not so fortunate. Property taxes are outrageous. The infrastructure is a disaster. The pictures they show on TV are of downtown Pittsburgh and it's immediate neighborhoods. Go 10-15 miles in any direction from the city center and see what a three decade reoovery looks like. You won't like what you see.

Ooops, didn't know my first rant actually posted.

What worked in Pittsburgh is not going to work in Detroit. Pittsburgh always had other assets - Heinz, Alcoa, PPG, Westinghouse, Pitt, Carnegie Mellon. Detroit uses to have some other companies but they all were bought out and merged away. There is nothing there now except the auto industry. And the auto industry is much bigger than the steel industry in Pittsrburgh every was. Pittsburgh never had the degree of middle class white flight in the 60s and 70s that Detroit did. Detroit has no Pitt or Carnegie Mellon bringing in billions in research dollars. Almost everyone living in the city limits are living in porverty. It is not capable of helping itself anymore. GM used to put some money into local development activities but it can't do it anymore either. Detroit is totalled without outside help. I know both cities VERY well. Years ago one of my college majors was urban studies and I have followed the fortunes of both cities over the decades. They might seem similar at first glance, being old industrial giants, but they are very different.

The Pittsburgh story won't work in Detroit. Pittsburgh always had assets besides the steel industry - Heinz, PPG, Westinghouse, Alcoa, etc. etc.. And the impact of Pitt and Carnegie Mellon cannot be overstated. Detroit has nothing. The non-auto companies that used to be there have been bought up and merged away. There is no Pitt or Carnegie Mellon, let alone both. Pittsburgh never had the amount of white middle class flight in the 60s and 70s like Detroit did. Today Detroit is an all black city with the majority below the poverty line. Detroit is totalled without outside help. It is way beyone helping itself. Believe me, I know both cities very well and one my college major years ago was urban studies.

The most accurate assesment of Pittsburgh is from the real estate agent at the end of the article. The city was hit hard by the closure of the steel mills and there was a ripple effect as small businesses closed due to lack of customers and towns felt the impact as their tax base dried up. I currently reside in Las Vegas, but as a Pittsburgh native I've learned the meaning of hard work and sacrifice and can survive anywhere. Detroit will survive but it will be a long and bumpy road ahead for them. They will have to reinvent themselves as Pittsburgh did. They may not become the city of 'eds and med', but I'm sure they will find something that works for them. It took two decades for the Burgh to recover, lets hope it doesn't take that long for Detroit.