# Lead in Flint's water. Who decided to change supply? Why is governor under fire? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 19, 2016, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-in-flints-water-who-decided-to-change-supply-why-is-governor-under-fire/743637 "2016-01-19T23:53:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-in-flints-water-who-decided-to-change-supply-why-is-governor-under-fire/743637/141 "2016-01-27T18:17:52Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > Also, the emergency manager was appointed by Democratic governor Jennifer Granholm, before Snyder was even in office. Michigan voters, through referendum, repealed the EM law that Granholm used. Statewide, it was unpopular. People didn’t want that much power in the hands of the governor. However, less than two months after voters spoke ( **voted down on November 6, 2012** ), the legislature and governor said to hell with what the people want, and they passed the EM law all over again ( **signed by Snyder December 27, 2012** )-- this time attached to an expenditure so it wouldn’t be subject to referendum repeal ever again (a common tactic by Michigan’s current batch of legislators, as they know the stuff they pass isn’t what people actually want). ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-in-flints-water-who-decided-to-change-supply-why-is-governor-under-fire/743637/142 "2016-01-27T22:32:47Z")
Well, sure, but Granholm was a D! So, its all even, equivalent and everybody does it! And the referendum doesn’t count because a lot of those people are D’s as well, apparently, so not to be trusted! ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-in-flints-water-who-decided-to-change-supply-why-is-governor-under-fire/743637/143 "2016-01-28T00:36:23Z")
Yeah we can see how all those cities shaped right up when their city governments were replaced. It was really just the city governments causing all the economic issues… Just look at Flint now after emergency management! Thriving metropolis! Ten less welfare queens to feed. They can cut back on the educational budget as no one is going to expect those lead tainted kids to meet national standards. The feds might even bail them out with a massive infrastructure improvement. Everything in Flint is looking up due to emergency management! Great work there. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-in-flints-water-who-decided-to-change-supply-why-is-governor-under-fire/743637/144 "2016-01-28T01:16:34Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Nice try. It’s because the dems in charge of Flint and Detroit were retarded and corrupt and bankrupted the cities. Why do you think the productive people who can hold a real, non patronage job left the decaying urban cores? I explained why the Gov. was responsible. Because the GOP is full of twats. This isn’t the fault of the Flint city government, it’s the result of the Gov. taking utter control, and not doing his fucking job. ---
**Author:** ![inscrutable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a88e4f/32.png) [@inscrutable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inscrutable)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-in-flints-water-who-decided-to-change-supply-why-is-governor-under-fire/743637/145 "2016-01-28T01:55:53Z")
Hell, lead was so common in the daily environment years ago, that most of us over 50 were probably exposed to at least as much as these poor Flintfolks… ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-in-flints-water-who-decided-to-change-supply-why-is-governor-under-fire/743637/146 "2016-01-28T04:01:38Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > Yeah we can see how all those cities shaped right up when their city governments were replaced. It was really just the city governments causing all the economic issues… > > Just look at Flint now after emergency management! Thriving metropolis! Ten less welfare queens to feed. They can cut back on the educational budget as no one is going to expect those lead tainted kids to meet national standards. The feds might even bail them out with a massive infrastructure improvement. Everything in Flint is looking up due to emergency management! Great work there. Ah the good old days, back in 2010, when all the rocket scientists were squirting out of Flint schools like pumpkin seeds the day before Halloween. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-in-flints-water-who-decided-to-change-supply-why-is-governor-under-fire/743637/147 "2016-01-28T05:27:46Z")
Maybe an experiment in political eugenics. If black people aren’t dumb enough to vote Republican, that can be fixed. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-in-flints-water-who-decided-to-change-supply-why-is-governor-under-fire/743637/148 "2016-01-28T06:31:56Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > Yeah we can see how all those cities shaped right up when their city governments were replaced. It was really just the city governments causing all the economic issues… > > Just look at Flint now after emergency management! Thriving metropolis! Ten less welfare queens to feed. They can cut back on the educational budget as no one is going to expect those lead tainted kids to meet national standards. The feds might even bail them out with a massive infrastructure improvement. Everything in Flint is looking up due to emergency management! Great work there. > [@Lobohan](#): > > I explained why the Gov. was responsible. Because the GOP is full of twats. > > This isn’t the fault of the Flint city government, it’s the result of the Gov. taking utter control, and not doing his fucking job. The partisan hackers is strong! There would have been no need for the state to take control of local Democratic politics weren’t so short sighted and corrupt. Compare Detroit after liberalism to Hiroshima after a nuke. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-in-flints-water-who-decided-to-change-supply-why-is-governor-under-fire/743637/149 "2016-01-28T06:41:40Z")
There are no GOP controlled cities in Michigan that have come on hard times either. You can tell by the way Snyder hasn’t had to put a Emergency manager in any GOP controlled city. Those places are all utopia’s created by tax cuts! ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-in-flints-water-who-decided-to-change-supply-why-is-governor-under-fire/743637/150 "2016-01-28T06:52:28Z")
You think that’s great, wait till they get the security fences in place! “This is the Entrance to Fancy Valley Township! Unless you don’t already live here, in which case, it isn’t. Domestics and tradesmen shall present themselves at the Service Entrance. You will have your papers ready.” ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-in-flints-water-who-decided-to-change-supply-why-is-governor-under-fire/743637/151 "2016-01-28T06:59:48Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > The partisan hackers is strong! There would have been no need for the state to take control of local Democratic politics weren’t so short sighted and corrupt. Compare Detroit after liberalism to Hiroshima after a nuke. Say that someone gets sick because they’re fat. The illness is largely their fault. That doesn’t mean that the doctor can’t be a fucking incompetent retard that hurts the patient even more, like Snyder. He’s a fucking stooge, bullshit GOP dogma has made him effectively stupid, because the horseshit he believes with all his heart isn’t real and leads him to govern like a cunt. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-in-flints-water-who-decided-to-change-supply-why-is-governor-under-fire/743637/152 "2016-01-28T07:02:26Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > You think that’s great, wait till they get the security fences in place! > > “This is the Entrance to Fancy Valley Township! Unless you don’t already live here, in which case, it isn’t. Domestics and tradesmen shall present themselves at the Service Entrance. You will have your papers ready.” Those with skills ought to work to enrich their own community then. No need to migrate to Fancy Valley if they have economic value. Why is it that those areas declined so rapidly? Detroit was fabulously wealthy and productive. Mean, dumb Republicans ruin it? ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-in-flints-water-who-decided-to-change-supply-why-is-governor-under-fire/743637/153 "2016-01-28T07:07:34Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > Say that someone gets sick because they’re fat. The illness is largely their fault. That doesn’t mean that the doctor can’t be a fucking incompetent retard that hurts the patient even more, like Snyder. > > He’s a fucking stooge, bullshit GOP dogma has made him effectively stupid, because the horseshit he believes with all his heart isn’t real and leads him to govern like a cunt. And that’s the partisanship I’m talking about. This is not a failure of a political party or ideology. It’s an indictment on the nature of power. Institutions don’t exist to solve problems. They exist for the sake of those individuals who comprise them. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-in-flints-water-who-decided-to-change-supply-why-is-governor-under-fire/743637/154 "2016-01-28T07:30:24Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > “This is the Entrance to Fancy Valley Township! Unless you don’t already live here, in which case, it isn’t. Domestics and tradesmen shall present themselves at the Service Entrance. You will have your papers ready.” “[A valid park pass](http://www.gpwmi.us/departments/parksAndRecPasses.html) is required for each resident 8 years and up…Any non-resident guest entering the park must be accompanied by a resident holding a valid park pass.” ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-in-flints-water-who-decided-to-change-supply-why-is-governor-under-fire/743637/155 "2016-01-28T07:56:42Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > And that’s the partisanship I’m talking about. This is not a failure of a political party or ideology. It’s an indictment on the nature of power. Institutions don’t exist to solve problems. They exist for the sake of those individuals who comprise them. That’s nonsense. Of course (some) institutions exist to solve problems. The USDA gets you meat without parasites in it. The very idea that you assert otherwise is pretty goofy, and it’s the exact kind of GOP article of faith that made Snyder so inept. ---
**Author:** ![Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pearl_Clutching_Provocateur)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-in-flints-water-who-decided-to-change-supply-why-is-governor-under-fire/743637/156 "2016-01-28T15:12:14Z")
I think the Left/ Progressives/ Democrats don’t understand what having an Emergency Manager means. It allows the city to renege on contracts and obligations that the city made, good or bad, and allows the city breathing room to get back on a financially stable position. It gives the city negotiating power with its creditors. I say give Occupy/Uncut Democrats what they want. Get rid of the Emergency Managers and make Detroit/ Flint/ Etc. honor every contract they signed no matter how burdensome or unfair. If the taxpayers see massive increases in taxes, so be it. That’s what they wanted. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-in-flints-water-who-decided-to-change-supply-why-is-governor-under-fire/743637/157 "2016-01-28T15:28:45Z")
That’s what the left wants? Well, shit, nobody told me! I pretty much thought I was one, being on the conservative wing of the extreme left, but guess not. If I can’t call myself a lefty, does that mean nobody else can either? Probably not, Obama never called himself a Marxist, didn’t seem to matter. Have to go get new clothes? “Beware of any enterprise that requires new clothes.” “Born-again centrist” is gonna take some getting used to. And this: “…I say give Occupy/Uncut Democrats what they want. Get rid of the Emergency Managers and make Detroit/ Flint/ Etc. honor every contract they signed no matter how burdensome or unfair…”. Went to Occupy get-togethers, nobody said word one about any of this shit! Now they got secrecy? Used to be, they couldn’t shut up about it, now they won’t even tell _me_? Unless, of course,\*\* Pearly\*\* doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Have to consider that possibility before I go and spend money on wing-tips. So, where’d you get this astonishing information? From out of your back pocket, or somewhere thereabouts? ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-in-flints-water-who-decided-to-change-supply-why-is-governor-under-fire/743637/158 "2016-01-28T17:22:45Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > And that’s the partisanship I’m talking about. This is not a failure of a political party or ideology. You say this, evidently without irony, immediately after blaming the issue on Democrats. :smack: Wow. Without even skipping a beat. Impressive mental gymnastics there. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-in-flints-water-who-decided-to-change-supply-why-is-governor-under-fire/743637/159 "2016-01-28T17:27:36Z")
Shit, The Donald does it every day! Mexicans are full of rapists and drug dealers, but they are really wonderful people and he loves them! ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-in-flints-water-who-decided-to-change-supply-why-is-governor-under-fire/743637/160 "2016-01-28T17:47:53Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > That’s because you apparently stopped reading after the first paragraph. No, I read the whole thing. In what way would a public library be targeting a specific electorate? I agree that it is pretty badly worded, but it appears to be an effort to stop local government from lobbying against the kinds of cuts the emergency manager wanted to implement. I assume you don’t think that some librarian would be arrested for having a stack of flyers with the text of some local referendum. Regards, Shodan [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-in-flints-water-who-decided-to-change-supply-why-is-governor-under-fire/743637.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-in-flints-water-who-decided-to-change-supply-why-is-governor-under-fire/743637.md?page=9)