Arm Yourself: Detroit Rock (bottom) City

In Detroit it takes an hour for police to respond to calls and less than 10% of its cases are solved. When government can’t make good on its promises, such as public safety, then it’s up to you. Pension promises were the straw that broke the camel’s back in Detroit. Government over promising and under delivering is what it does best. Unfortunately it’s those left behind that have to pay the price because a huge chunk of the wealthy folk from Detroit live in the burbs or somewhere warm like Florida. There is no downside to making sure you can protect yourself. Here are some depressing facts about Detroit’s bankruptcy in today’s Wall Street Journal.

A Long, Sad Decline

• Detroit’s population fell more than 26% from 2000 to 2012 and totals about 700,000—down from almost two million in 1950, according to the census.

• An estimated 40,000 structures or land parcels sit vacant or empty.

• The city spent $100 million more than it took in every year since 2008, on average—borrowing the rest.

• Some 36% of Detroiters lived below the poverty level between 2007 and 2011, the census found.

• In 2012, Detroit had the highest violent crime rate for a city with more than 200,000 residents, the FBI says.

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

Preparing your investments and family for when disaster strikes.

E.J. Smith is the Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH, where he completed course-work in Practical and Defensive Handgun, Conceal Carry Pistol, Shotguns, Precision Scope Rifle and Kidnapping Prevention. E.J. plays a Yamaha Recording Custom drum set with Zilldjian cymbals. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zilldjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@youngresearch.com. Sign up here to receive all the best content from Richardcyoung.com each week.