Shikha Dalmia has an enlightening piece about the plight of Detroit here. She observes that about two years ago, people were smiling about the “green shoots” that were appearing in Motown. Alas, it was crony capitalist astroturf, not spontaneous regeneration of market activity. Then, to make matters worse, Mayor Dave Bing went all authoritarian in a crackdown on “illegal” businesses, inflicting more harm on struggling people.