{"id":305646,"date":"2026-07-25T21:27:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T21:27:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/305646\/"},"modified":"2026-07-25T21:27:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T21:27:08","slug":"detroit-developer-cites-tax-hikes-as-reason-big-blue-cities-like-nyc-are-struggling-socialists-are-on-the-march","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/305646\/","title":{"rendered":"Detroit developer cites tax hikes as reason big blue cities like NYC are struggling: ‘Socialists are on the march’"},"content":{"rendered":"

America\u2019s once-iconic industrial hub is primed for an economic comeback as major metropolitan areas continue to bleed residents to lower-tax states<\/a>, a prominent Michigan developer told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n

Rodney Lockwood, Board Chairman of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, warned that high-tax cities like New York City<\/a>, Los Angeles, and San Francisco are facing serious structural trouble.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we have to look at both sides: what is not working, and then what will work,\u201d Lockwood said. <\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, socialists are on the march, and Zohran Mamdani in New York<\/a> is perhaps the best example of that. They\u2019re winning races, and their answer is always the same: more taxes<\/a> and more free stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lockwood\u2019s comments come as progressive-led cities nationwide\u2014including\u00a0New York, Chicago, Boston, and Los Angeles\u2014struggle with taxpayer flight driven by high state and local taxes<\/a>, lingering crime concerns, and an astronomical cost of living. <\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, socialists are on the march, and Zohran Mamdani in New York is perhaps the best example of that,\u201d Rodney Lockwood said, in part. vichie81 \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

Los Angeles is one progressive-led US city struggling with taxpayer flight driven by high state and local taxes, lingering crime concerns, and an astronomical cost of living. frank peters \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

A new study by the National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF),\u00a0released<\/a>\u00a0April 7, 2026, confirmed that taxpayers are\u00a0fleeing high-tax environments\u00a0for more fiscally friendly states.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While\u00a0Texas and Florida\u00a0remain the top targets<\/a>, states like North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee are also seeing record gains. <\/p>\n

Notably, the NTUF \u201cMigration in Minutes\u201d metric found that Texas surpassed Florida in 2022 as the state gaining a new taxpayer most frequently \u2014 one every four minutes and 40 seconds.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sort of see it as a case of suicidal envy,\u201d Lockwood explained. <\/p>\n

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\u201cBelle Isle would be on the opposite side of that equation. We would have a taxation system aligned with the best of human characteristics. If you want people to work for the income and dignity of it, don\u2019t tax work\u2014so there\u2019d be no local income tax. If we want people to come, invest, and produce the tools of productivity, don\u2019t tax investments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lockwood is championing a proposal to transform Detroit\u2019s Belle Isle into a self-governing \u201cFreedom City\u201d aimed at setting a new blueprint for urban revival nationwide.<\/p>\n

First developed as a public park in the late 19th century, Belle Isle spans 982 acres in the Detroit River\u2014making it roughly 140 acres larger than New York City\u2019s Central Park. <\/p>\n

While the city owns the land, it is currently leased to the State of Michigan and operated as a state park under a 30-year agreement signed in 2013.<\/p>\n

Visitors walk along a path on Belle Isle as the Detroit skyline is seen in the background during a hot day in Detroit on July 14, 2026. USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

Under Lockwood\u2019s proposal, private investors would purchase or lease the island from Detroit to build a mixed-use residential, retail, and commercial district. <\/p>\n

The goal is to generate massive economic activity and private-sector jobs for a city recovering from decades of population loss.<\/p>\n

Lockwood pointed to recent polling by Michigan pollster Steve Mitchell indicating strong interest in bold economic solutions, with 68 percent of likely\u00a0Detroit voters\u00a0and 51 percent of voters statewide approving the concept of special economic freedom zones.<\/p>\n

Detroit\u2019s economic trajectory highlights the stark reality of post-war urban decline, Lockwood noted.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to restore it back to being the world-class city it once was,\u201d Lockwood said. \u201cBack in 1950, it was the world\u2019s richest city. Today, it ranks among the poorest in the United States. We\u2019ve gone from 1.85 million people down to around 600,000.\u201d<\/p>\n

A woman paddle boards in the 90 degree morning heat at Belle Isle on July 1, 2026. USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

Lockwood believes the island represents a vastly underutilized asset ideal for conversion into a tax-friendly special economic zone designed to draw global capital. <\/p>\n

His vision projects a permanent population of 50,000 residents across 20,000 households\u2014all built without relying on taxpayer dollars<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The \u201cFreedom City\u201d concept, supported by free-market advocates at the Mackinac Center, hinges on courting private venture capital through light-touch regulation and a growth-oriented tax framework.<\/p>\n

Lockwood pointed to long-standing socioeconomic challenges across\u00a0the Motor City\u00a0as evidence that conventional municipal governance has failed.<\/p>\n

\u201cDetroit is stuck,\u201d Lockwood asserted. \u201cIts population has struggled to rebound, and it faces a looming fiscal issue. COVID-era federal relief funds sustained municipal budgets for a few years, but that money is exhausted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lockwood argues that transforming Belle Isle could provide the spark needed to revitalize the entire region.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat Belle Isle would do with 50,000 residents and $50 billion in private investment is attract an entrepreneurial class,\u201d Lockwood said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThese are business leaders looking to take proven concepts and expand into the heart of the world\u2019s largest economy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"America\u2019s once-iconic industrial hub is primed for an economic comeback as major metropolitan areas continue to bleed residents…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":305647,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[3339,2132,9415,2184,9730,9,24,56,63,65,64,1491,1211,2780,901],"class_list":["post-305646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-cities","tag-democrats","tag-detroit","tag-development","tag-michigan","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news","tag-real-estate","tag-socialism","tag-taxes","tag-united-states"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=305646"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305646\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/305647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=305646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=305646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=305646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}