WDET is gathering Metro Detroiters’ views of the current political landscape as part of our Citizen Vox project.

That includes Detroiter George Thompson, who we caught up with at a Midtown QLINE streetcar stop.

He says he knows citizens are supposed to have the ultimate political power: their vote.

But Thompson says he fears the typical resident has little say in what government does.

Interview edited for length and clarity.

George Thompson: Because a lot of times decisions are made from behind closed doors, where people are not allowed to go in to hear what’s going on, or pass on their opinion and try to persuade. It’s all about whoever got the political movements to make the money to give to the politicians to do the decisions that they want them to do. It’s big business. So, basically, whoever’s got the money can run it. Whoever got the money, the connections and know the people within the circle, they got the power to make whatever happens in this country happen.

Quinn Klinefelter, WDET News: Whoever is elected to any of the offices in play, senate, governor, etc., what issues would you like to see them tackle that would be particularly important to you?

GT: Anything dealing with human rights, man, and human welfare. Giving people an opportunity to live the American dream, work hard and fulfill their dreams, hopes, and desires. A man’s home is his castle. So a man needs a place to stay. He needs to be working somewhere so he can take care of the place, raise a family to be productive citizens of this country, and live the American dream that was set for us when the founding fathers founded this country.

But right now it ain’t about that. Because if you look around, you see people who are hungry, people who are struggling, gas prices are out of control. People can’t really enjoy life like they should be. You take a pay check in one hand and it goes out the other. Inflation’s going up, but the checks ain’t going up along with it. So we’re going through some hard times right now. And it seems that nobody is really trying to help to fulfill that for us.

QK: When you talk about helping with the American dream, is there anything in particular that you’d like to see? Lowering prices somehow, trying to get more affordable housing, things like that?

GT: One thing is, before we help other countries, man, we got to make sure our country is up to par. Because we got issues and problems that we need to address seriously to help our country be strong enough so that we can be able to help others. How are we gonna help somebody with a flat tire and we got four flat tires?

There are people out here who don’t want to work, I understand that. But people who are looking for something, help them find enough minimum wage to attain some of the things that they desire in life. Shoot, I remember when rent prices were like $450. Now it’s double and triple that for the same place.

We are still making $14, $12, $10 an hour. And they think that’s supposed to be enough to attain a nice decent apartment or a roof over our head for our family. But it’s not. We struggling, man. And it’s hard. Gas prices are going up. There’s more problems now than ever. Everything just went crazy, man. It makes no sense. You give us something, then you triple up everything else to get the money back. And that’s not right. Not right at all.

Have you ever rented an apartment and noticed extra fees tacked onto the rent? A fee for the trash. A fee for pest control. How about a fee for “managing the boiler.”

Those are among the allegations against Greystar, the biggest landlord in America. It paid $24 million to settle a lawsuit claiming it hid fees like these on top of the rent it advertised. Greystar says it did nothing wrong — and the settlement lets it keep charging the fees. It just has to list them now.

This one hits close to home. Greystar runs more than 3,000 apartments in metro Detroit, and nearly 2,000 more in Ann Arbor and Lansing. The fees can add hundreds of dollars a month. And if you miss them, many leases say you can be evicted.

It comes at a brutal time to rent. Nearly half of America’s renters already pay more than they can afford. Just yesterday, Congress passed the biggest housing bill in decades — but it leaves fees like these largely untouched.

Investigative reporter and author Tracie McMillan spent months digging through leases and court records for her new investigation in The Guardian. She joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro to explain why renting can cost so much more than the advertised price.

Hear the full conversation using the media player above.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and stream on-demand. Never miss an episode — subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, NPR, or wherever you get your podcasts.

More stories from The Metro

Michigan picks its next governor in November, and the Democratic frontrunner is Jocelyn Benson.

Benson made her name as Secretary of State when she refused to overturn Michigan’s 2020 election — even when armed protesters showed up at her Detroit home while she decorated a Christmas tree with her four-year-old son. The John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award followed. So did the Presidential Citizens Medal.

Now she wants to replace Gretchen Whitmer in a state that voted for Donald Trump just 18 months ago.

Her path got easier last week when independent Mike Duggan dropped out, citing low poll numbers and fundraising struggles. She has also faced scrutiny along the way: her own Democratic attorney general ruled she’d broken state campaign-finance law launching her bid, and the Trump Justice Department sued her for Michigan’s voter rolls — a suit a federal judge dismissed in February.

The Metro’s Robyn Vincent had 15 minutes to find out what this all means.

This article has been updated to note that the U.S. Justice Department lawsuit against Michigan over voter rolls was dismissed in February 2026.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

More stories from The Metro