> I happen to think it's interesting, but for reasons unrelated to the article-- it's kinda goofy for the state to tax personal property that happens to be fixed to a location, like a fireplace, stained glass window or chandelier.

The 'goofiness' is on purpose: you tend to get less of what you tax. Most taxes are taxes on some kind of economic activity.

The supply of land is fixed, so you can tax it all you want without impacting economic activity, like working a job or investing capital or even just shopping.

> [...] even if the connection to Detroit's problems is very unclear.

Detroit suffers from a lack of economic activity.