“Calling pensions a contract, [Judge] Rhodes says that it’s widely understood that bankruptcy allows contracts to be impaired. It seems like he’s laying the groundwork for cuts to pensions, but we’ll see.
Rhodes says that pensions have protections under the Michigan constitution, but don’t have protection in federal bankruptcy court.”
This is a huge precedent. It means that states that protect public pensions with their state constitutions are still subject to bankruptcy like any other contract.
This will get appealed to the court of appeals, and will almost certainly be certworthy after the appeals court ruling.
Do we still have a Piper to pay?
States need to assert their independence from the Feral Government.