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Detroit automakers have replaced "good-paying jobs" with corporate philanthropy, but that's not enough to stave off collapse of a once-great American city.

"It is a striking juxtaposition of corporate wealth and success in a city that cannot provide adequate police protection or keep the streetlights on. And while the car companies have donated millions to the city and community groups to ease their financial pain, city officials and industry executives realize that the Big Three can no longer provide what Detroit really needs: more good-paying jobs. The gulf between rich and poor was underscored last year when Ford executives presented city leaders with a $10 million check to revive an empty community center in a struggling neighborhood in southwest Detroit. In a city running a budget deficit of about $1 million a day, Ford’s gift was a windfall that would pay for a food bank, arts and dance classes, bilingual services and education programs. But the corporate check was little more than financial Band-Aid in a neighborhood that has never been the same since G.M. closed two major factories in the 1980s that employed more than 10,000 workers." -- Bill Vlasic, the New York Times


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