> If you can't pay your property taxes, you need to move. I would argue you are talking in the wrong tense. Detroit has suffered from resident and employer fli

> If you can't pay your property taxes, you need to move. I would argue you are talking in the wrong tense. Detroit has suffered from resident and employer flight for 40 years. About A MILLION people took your advice before you gave it. It has caused a tremendous downward pressure on property values and gutted employee mobility. Those people that are currently living in Detroit who can't or can just barely pay their property taxes are unlikely to be able to afford to leave and/or probably have too much hope / faith / pride (the regular irrational actors) to face the hard reality. I would bet that a lower intelligence and/or education level is likely to correlate highly with people who stick around despite the city crumbling around them. Also, if residents can't afford to pay $500 to buy their own house at county auction, they also can't afford to move and start new somewhere else. Even if they could manage to leave before foreclosure, that does not absolve them of their obligation to pay property taxes on a property they still own and likely can't sell. People that can't afford property tax bills likely also have bad credit, which is another impediment to being able to afford a move, rent / buy a new place elsewhere, and even being able to apply for a new job. I would argue that people who can't pay this month's bills don't worry about "long term". That's why there are more short term ("PayDay") loan centers than there are McDonald's restaurants nationwide. Not trying to absolve them of their bad economic sense, just pointing out some likely reasons they haven't already moved elsewhere.