Think the Second Great Contraction is a
figment of
US Person's imagination? Check
this recent story from Bloomberg. Theft of plumbing for the value of the metal is reaching new highs, cutting the number of US homes with complete plumbing by about 10.4% This figure was complied from US census data. Collapsing Detroit his behind only Gary, Indiana which leads the list of cities experiencing urban devolution. Cleveland, Dayton, Camden and Buffalo are also being affected by blight. Detroit's population peaked at 1.85 million in 1950. The 2010 Census counts a population of 714,000. Twenty-two thousand properties may go on sale for deliquent taxes this year, but about 19% of Detroit's real estate units lack complete plumbing. Roaming gangs of vandals are responsible for stripping the units of their plumbing and wiring.
Between 2002 and 2007 reported
metal thefts in Dallas spiked almost 1000%. Thieves using power tools were dismantling the city, even taking bronze vases from graves. Metal theft is a difficult crime to combat because the loot is easily disposed of and untraceable once it is melted down. If a cop is lucky, he may spot a casting mark that can be investigated before the metal is recycled, but record keeping in the scrap metal business is notoriously lax. The Dallas metal theft unit cracks only 10% of reported cases. Phoenix has experienced a rise in metal thefts by more than 400% since 2003, causing damages of more than $7.2 million in 2008. In August 2007, thieves removing copper pipes from a vacant Iowa farmhouse accidentally cut the propane gas line. When the 80 year-old homeowner and retired plumber plugged in a fan to blow out lingering gas in the basement the house exploded killing him. The stolen copper was worth about $20. When inflation kills, its serious.
Why is this happening, not only in Detroit, but all over the country? The high price of metals motivates people. Copper climbed to a peak of $4.62/lb on the London metal exchange in 2011 up from 75¢. An average single-family home uses 439 lbs of copper that yields about $1000 to $1200. The damage done to property while mining for metal usually far exceeds the value of the commodity. The Electrical Safety Foundation International calculated an estimated $60.4 million in damage from 50,193 incidents of copper theft nationwide.