Detroit, we've let you down. Despite our best efforts to pump $376.9 million (minus a 5% commission) into the city's underfunded pension systems, our Powerball numbers did not come in. At all. Out of five tickets, we managed to get just one number. Not winning the Powerball is about as near to a mathematical certainty as the sun setting this evening, but you'd think the Easy Pick system could do better than one correct number out of 30.
Don't worry, we don't plan to add the $10 cost of these deadbeat Powerball tickets to the city's debts. These wagers are on us. Deadline Detroit can afford it.
And while this initiative did not perhaps yield the results we hoped for, we think there is a model here that can help Detroit. There are countless opportunities to find revenue for the city through gaming. Let's not call this gambling because gambling makes it sound like this a frivolous recreational activity. This is serious business. Let's call what we're doing "leveraging assets in a bold public-private investment."
If you have ideas how we can gamble leverage assets in a bold public-private partnership, let us know and we'll try them out. If we win...no, when we win (think positive!) we'll donate the proceeds to Detroit's pension funds.
Together, we can make Detroit great!
