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mass media

Poverty Stricken Detroit Raises Money For A Robocop Statue?

By //  by Khaleef Crumbley

The citizens of Detroit, Michigan have raised over $50,000 to erect a statue of Robocop in the city, according to a story on Detroit News’ website. It only took the residents six days to gather the necessary donations after an Oakland, California advertising entrepreneur named Pete Hottelet push them over the goal by donating $25,000!

Robocop, Detroit’s Rocky?

A subsequent story that ran on CNN, gives us some background on this odd campaign:

Last week, Mayor Dave Bing received a tweet from one of his followers, saying, “Philadelphia has a statue of Rocky & Robocop would kick Rocky’s butt. He’s a GREAT ambassador for Detroit.” But Bing shot down his request, saying, “There are not any plans to erect a statue to Robocop. Thank you for the suggestion.”

Shortly afterward, however, a campaign was launched to raise funds for the statue.

Apparently, not all Detroit residents believe that building this statue will be a good idea:

It has since generated national media attention and substantial debate within Detroit between those who believe a statue is fun and could be a tourist attraction and those who believe it is silly idea at best and condescending reminder of the city’s crime problems at worst.

I really do think that both views are taking the significance of this statue too far! I’m pretty sure that Detroit has enough to remind visitors of the city’s crime problems. On the other hand, I doubt that people will flock to Detroit to see a statue of a character from a bad movie!

Should The Robocop Statue Be A Priority In Detroit?

Many people already know just how hard hit the city has been in recent years. Major manufacturing plants located in and around the city have closed (including many of the automotive giants), leading to a mass exodus of both jobs and skilled workers!

This has lead to massive foreclosures (some houses were even selling for $100), severe unemployment (it was estimated to be between 12.7 and 13.8 percent during the last quarter of 2010), and more crime then even Robocop could handle!

Considering all of this, should building a statue dedicated to a movie character be this important to the residents of Detroit?

Some would say that all of the efforts of the citizens should be concentrated on trying to fix their economy, or at least provide temporary relief to those who are struggling the most. Think about how many meals for the homeless could have been purchased with that $50,000.

Remember, it only took 6 days for them to reach their goal. Just imagine what a more long-term campaign could do given this much publicity and effort (or if they stuck to a simple budget and vowed to improve their finances)!

Reader Questions:

  1. Do you think the citizens of Detroit should focus their time, energy, and money on more important matters?

  2. How do you feel about a city with so much poverty and unemployment being able to come up with that much money that fast?

  3. Do you think this statue will help to bring a little joy and excitement to a city that is struggling?

  4. Couldn’t they have found a cool character like Axel Foley, instead?


Axel Foley
Detroit's Top Cop









This article was featured in the following carnivals:

Carnival of Money Stories #95: Bedtime Story Edition

Totally Money Blog Carnival – Outrageous tax deduction edition

Filed Under: General Tagged With: cities, detroit, Entertainment, films, financial, mass media, money, Poverty, raise money, raising funds, robocop, robocop 3, robocop: the animated series, rocky, statue, statues, superhero films

7 Ways to Save Money on College Textbooks

By //  by Khaleef Crumbley

College textbooks can sell for upwards of $250 for some subjects and then sell for less than $20 only 3 months later! The markup on textbooks is unbelievable and can present a serious strain on a student’s finances. That’s why it’s important to learn all of the ways to save money on textbooks!

When I was a college student, I rarely ever purchased new textbooks.

How To Save Money On Textbooks

Don’t Buy Them!

The first thing to do is to contact the professor and make sure that the book is required for the class (many book assignments are made by the department, and some teachers will hardly use them).

I had a number of professors who announced on the first day of class that we shouldn’t buy the book because we would be taught and tested on their notes!

Many students were then left in a terrible position because they had already purchased and opened the book – thus making it used (like driving a car off the lot)!

Save Money On Textbooks By Shopping Online

You can save money on textbooks by purchasing them used from Amazon.com, or if you have (or are considering purchasing) a Kindle, buy the electronic version of the book. Amazon advertises that you can save up to 90% on the cost of textbooks by shopping on their website. You can even rent textbooks on your Kindle.

Also, if you sign up for their Amazon Student program (completely free), you are eligible for free 2-day shipping on any order directly from Amazon!

If you can’t find your book on Amazon, be sure to check out Barnes & Noble for their textbook deals.

Buy The Previous Edition

Many textbooks (just about all Economics and Finance books) will simply make small updates and change a few pages around and release a new version.

Check with your professor to see if the previous version will be acceptable. I actually had a few nice professors that put the chapter and page numbers of the current and previous editions for all assignments!

Buy The International Version

Many textbooks sold in the US will have an international counterpart that is nearly or completely identical and sells for a fraction of the cost!

Buy In A Group

Get together with a group of classmates and buy one copy of the book to share. This will work wonderfully depending on the subject.

Finance and other business subjects, where students are often called upon to do group assignments, give ample opportunity for this.

This just calls for a little coordination and trust, but to save over $100 per book…it’s worth it!

Rent Your Textbooks

This is another option that is becoming quite popular. Sites like Chegg and Campus Book Rentals have become very efficient at renting books recently. Even Barnes & Noble offers textbook rentals for my alma mater!

Visit Your School’s Library

Many textbooks – especially older editions – can be found at your school library. If the book is popular, there will probably be a limit on how long you can check it out, but it’s still worth it to take a look.

Call or visit your campus library as soon as you find out what books are required. A benefit of larger universities (like my alma mater), is having a network of dozens of libraries to choose from, some at different schools.

Reader Questions

  1. How have you been able to save on textbook costs?
  2. Do you have a lot of professors who don’t require them at all?
  3. Have you had success using and following the previous edition of a textbook?
  4. Do you have any other tips that should be included here?

photo credit: Marquette La

Filed Under: Education, shopping Tagged With: amazon kindle, amazon.com, barnes noble, budget, chegg, College, college student, e book, Education, mass media, save money, shopping, textbook sell, Textbooks

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