Thursday, October 09, 2008

Detroit Demonstration to Demand That Mayor Declare 'Economic State of Emergency', Oct. 10, Noon

For Immediate Release

Media Advisory
Picket Line/Press Conference

Event: Protest to Declare 'State of Emergency' in Detroit
Location: Gather at 'Spirit of Detroit,' Oct. 10, Noon
Picket Line and Press Conference, Woodward &
Jefferson
Contact: Moratorium Now! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures &
Evictions: 313.671.3715, 887.4344
URL: http://www.moratoriumnow-mi.org

Moratorium Now! Coalition Demonstration to Declare 'Economic State of Emergency' in Detroit; Interim Mayor Cockrel Must Appeal to Governor to Impose Halt to Foreclosures; Billions in Federal Funds Required to Address Crisis Resulting in 150 Million Dollar Deficit

Last week's trillion dollar taxpayer bailout of the financial sector on Wall Street points to the gravity of the economic crisis in the United States. In the city of Detroit, the residents are suffering from one of the highest unemployment and foreclosure rates rates in the country. 18% of housing units are vacant amid growing homelessness.

We are demanding that the interim Mayor Kenneth Cockrel, Jr. immediately request that Gov. Granholm declare a state of economic emergency and consequently impose a moratorium on home foreclosures and evictions. We are also requesting that billions of dollars in federal funds be sent to Detroit in order to provide jobs and relief to the people of this city and the state of Michigan.

Political leaders that allow their citizens to be exploited by taking public funds and turning them over to the bankers, who created the crisis in the first place, are not only unethical but are clearly operating contrary to the interests of their constituents.

We strongly object to the actions of Sen. Levin and Congresswoman Cheeks-Kilpatrick for voting in Congress to give a trillion dollars of our taxes to Wall Street. Instead they should have called for the passage of SB 1306 in Michigan, which would impose a two-year moratorium on foreclosures in Detroit and throughout the state.

We believe that the people are entitled to federal dollars handed over to the bankers in order to stabilize the housing market through an immediate freeze on foreclosures and evictions. We are also calling for our tax dollars to provide jobs, health care, energy guarantees and that these funds given to the corrupt banking CEOs and executives be returned to resolve the needs of millions of households across the country.

The Moratorium Now! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures and Evictions will hold a picket line and press conference outside the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center on Woodward at Jefferson on Friday, Oct. 10 at Noon. A letter has been sent to Interim Mayor Cockrel outlining our demands for immediate action on the economic crisis.

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