(Losing) Your Mind in Detroit Rock City

There were two interesting stories about Detroit, Michigan this week. The first one was affordable housing.


Houses Cheaper than Cars in Detroit -- DETROIT (Reuters) - With bidding stalled on some of the least desirable residences in Detroit's collapsing housing market, even the fast-talking auctioneer was feeling the stress.

"Folks, the ground underneath the house goes with it. You do know that, right?" he offered.

After selling house after house in the Motor City for less than the $29,000 it costs to buy the average new car, the auctioneer tried a new line: "The lumber in the house is worth more than that!"


The second story was:


Michigan Congressman says Parts of Iraq are As Safe as Detroit -- DETROIT -- A Republican congressman who said parts of Iraq are no more dangerous than Detroit is drawing criticism from the mayor's office and the Michigan Democratic party.

During an interview Monday with WILS-AM in Lansing, Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, said the returning troops he has talked with "indicate to me that 80 to 85 percent, in a conservative fashion, of (Iraq) is reasonably under control, at least as well as Detroit or Chicago or any of our other big cities. That's an encouraging sign."


I guess the moral of the story is: Cars are still too expensive in Detroit.

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