It occurred to me sometime ago that the heart of the American jobs crisis lay in Detroit, and then by extension the rest of Middle America—literally. Since the decline of the American Automotive Industry Detroit has been declining likewise. The land values have plummeted, the population has fled, and many factories lay abandoned and shuttered. In my undergrad I remember a professor sharing a joke that while the yuppies were gentrifying Harlem, Detroit was being gentrified by bears, as great trees grew through suburban houses and ivy had overtaken barren grocery shelves.
Where some might see a city on the path to becoming a modern day Machu Picchu, another might see a great opportunity for rebirth. Houses and factories lay abandoned and out of use, which could probably make way for the municipal, local, state, and/or federal governments to exercise eminent domain on many if not all of these lands and offer them to companies and manufacturers at a low cost or even at no cost; a sweet deal for sure, and one that they could hardly turn down…even in the face of a few conditions.
Since the Supreme Court has ruled that corporations are people too, and that they deserve the save tax breaks as individuals, then they should be offered breaks for their expenditures in order to augment their gains (as opposed to breaks on gains solely). For example, homeowners are given tax breaks for certain repairs and replacements to their homes such as new roofs or windows which insulate homes better and make heating more effective and cost efficient. In this way, the homeowner saves some money by spending some money and gets a tax break—all for making their house run better. Since corporations are people too they should have the opportunity to be rewarded for making their houses run better—and since the legislators define the terms they can dictate what measures have to be taken.
This is where the aisle suddenly becomes a narrow and easily crossed void—in fact the donkey and the elephant might even bump elbows. In exchange for factories and other lands (redistricted when needed) the newly built or retrofitted buildings would have to meet strict green energy regulations as well as adhering to other building, safety, and emission codes. Their roofs, where ever possible would have to be fitted with massive amounts of solar paneling so that they won’t strain the grid in existence, and ideally would add power to the city’s capacity. In this way, the new buildings would physically be adding to Detroit (or whichever city’s) ability to grow—and additionally the same measures would be added to new residences and structures being built going forward.