Filmmaker Michael Moore Slams Michigan Governor Rick Snyder & Calls Flint Water Crisis A "Hate Crime" On HBO's 'Real Time With Bill Maher."
Filmmaker Michael Moore slammed Michigan governor Rick Snyder and called the ongoing Flint water crisis a "hate crime" during his Friday night appearance on HBO's Real Time With Bill Maher. Moore's remarks on the dire situation in his home state come as Michigan governments projects that water bills could double for Flint residents in the next five years. The analysis conducted by the Michigan Department of Treasury states that current rates are not sufficient to fund the water utility.
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A report released Friday suggests that Flint residents' pricey water bills could double in the next five years due to several factors, even though the state has pledged aid amid the city's ongoing lead-tainted water crisis.The analysis, which was submitted to a governor-created committee working to address the crisis, warns that the average residential bill of nearly $54 a month may rise to $110 — not counting sewer charges — "absent any action to increase funding or decrease costs." The typical residential water bill has doubled since 2009 and is far higher than in other regional cities of Flint's size.
Cost savings were a factor in the city's fateful switch in 2014 from the metropolitan Detroit utility system to a temporary water source, the Flint River, until it could connect to a new pipeline. Flint was under state management then, and environmental regulators mistakenly told the city not to add a chemical to prevent lead from leaching out of old pipes.
The study says bills are so high because Flint went many years without any rate increases — later resulting in large hikes — and its aging infrastructure was built for 200,000 people but now serves about half that due to population loss. It says Flint also has a withering industrial base and has "effectively been paying for two water sources," purchasing from Detroit again while waiting for the Karegnondi Water Authority pipeline to be built and still maintaining its own plant as a backup.
Check the footage below for a taste of Bill Maher's discussion with Michael Moore. Check out his 10 Facts On Flint to learn more about the Flint Water Crisis. Get more via helpforflint.com.
