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City of Detroit to shut off water to 17,000 more homes

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On Martin Luther King Day, Detroit Jews for Justice protests the water shutoffs in Detroit to tens of thousands of low income people.
PHOTO/VALERIE JEAN

 
Editor’s note: The comments below are from Detroit water warriors about the massive, ongoing water shutoffs in their city. They say in a few years, a third of our country will not be able to afford their water bills.
I’m Maureen Taylor with the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization (MWRO). The city of Detroit has announced the next round of water shutoffs. Seventeen thousand separate addresses are slated to have water shut off at their homes, and we have one word for that: Scandalous!
I’m Tijuana Morris, also with the MWRO. The charge or fees that administrators for the water department make are six digits, far above the average poor person. Its just not justified.
I’m Marian Kramer and I’m part of the MWRO and the Poor People’s Campaign. This is exactly what the poor people are out there doing. That is, to organize to eliminate poverty. And water is part of it. Water is gold. Water should not be privatized. It should be for the public
I’m Sylvia Orduno, with the MWRO and the People’s Water Board. The things we are talking about today, even though very drastic for Detroit residents, is happening at the state and national level, we just don’t hear much about it. In Detroit, we’ve been experiencing these types of shuts offs for at least the past 20 years. We’ve been trying to stop it with demands that there be a Water Affordability Plan based on low income, but we’re not getting the traction we need. But we know this is a growing national problem. Forecasts are that in the next few years, a third of the country will not be able to afford their water bills.
WATER IS A HUMAN RIGHT!

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