‘Disgusting’ and ‘Crazy’: Joe Rogan Laments Decline Of Detroit Auto Industry – So Many Abandoned Buildings, ‘You Could Buy A House There For 500 Bucks’

'Disgusting' and 'Crazy': Joe Rogan Laments Decline Of Detroit Auto Industry – So Many Abandoned Buildings, 'You Could Buy A House There For 500 Bucks'

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The fall of the Detroit auto industry is a story of glory turned to struggle. A city that once led globally now faces challenges competing in the market it helped build.
Comedian Joe Rogan and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) discussed Detroit's decline from its peak during an episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast in June. Rogan said he has long been a fan of the cars Detroit factories once produced and finds it "disgusting" to see the decline of a city that was once among the richest in the world.
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"As someone who loves American automobiles, I’m a big fan of what Detroit made during that time," Rogan said. "And to see what happened to Detroit now. There’s just so many abandoned buildings. It’s insane. You could buy a house there for 500 bucks. It’s really crazy. Like giant factories where every window smashed, all the pipes have been torn out."
Major Detroit automakers, including General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM) and Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F), are facing intense competition from Chinese carmakers. Ford and GM recently announced billions of dollars in writedowns tied to a planned pullback in EV investments, as they focus on gas-powered vehicles and hybrids amid weakening demand for electric cars.
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Sanders said the decline of Detroit and other U.S. business hubs began when major corporations moved American jobs to China and Mexico to cut costs, taking advantage of workers willing to accept far lower wages.
"You asked me how does it happen, why does it happen, I think especially right now and for many decades, you have the prevailing religion of the oligarchs and the corporate world is greed," he said. "That’s all, I want it all and I don’t give a shit if I have to step all over you, throw you out on the street, take away your social security. I want it."

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Rogan said offshoring jobs to other countries to save money is "unsustainable" and talked about Michael Moore's 1989 documentary "Roger & Me," which examines GM's plant closures in Michigan and their impact on local communities.
"That documentary is fantastic," Rogan said. "It shows the impact of a corporation taking all their factories, moving them away like that with no warning, no recourse, nothing anybody can do. Decimates basically all of Detroit."
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