Free Republic

Detroit’s bankruptcy filing is one depressing read. Poverty, crime, blight – you name the malady and there’s plenty of data to back it up. And unfortunately, Detroit’s not alone. You may be wondering which city hits the wall next. I’m not making predictions, but I’ve looked at one indicator that may offer some clues: population loss.As any good Ponzi Schemer will tell you, your future looks much better when there are more people moving in than moving out. Once the population change turns negative, a vicious circle can take hold, and that’s exactly what we saw in Detroit. In addition...

The Talk Shows July 21st, 2013 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Kevyn Orr, Detroit's emergency manager; Rep. Donna Edwards, D-Md.; Ben Carson, a pediatric neurosurgeon and Washington Times columnist.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Gov. Rick Snyder, R-Mich.; Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio; Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League.FACE THE NATION (CBS): House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio; Gov. Rick Snyder, R-Mich.THIS WEEK (ABC): Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas; Detroit Mayor Dave Bing.STATE OF THE UNION (CNN): Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.; Reps. Cedric Richmond, D-La., and Xavier Becerra, D-Calif.; Sherrilyn Ifill, president and...

On Friday, MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry put forth a theory as to why Detroit inevitably went bankrupt — terminal lack of government. We’ll do our best to explain. While discussing Detroit’s downfall, Harris-Perry and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean agreed that “you’ve got to have a government to run the place.” Harris-Perry noted Detroit’s declining population, and in turn its tax base. The population of the city has declined dramatically over the last 10 years. Mediaite’s Noah Rothman, who calls the MSNBC host’s assessment “delusional,” provides some analysis and facts: Harris-Perry presents this fact as though former Detroit residents left –...

... But while Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has capably overseen Detroit’s march to Chapter 9, neither the state nor the federal government has evinced any inclination to provide meaningful financial assistance. That’s a mistake. No one likes bailouts or the prospect of rewarding Detroit’s historic fiscal mismanagement. But apart from voting in elections, the 700,000 remaining residents of the Motor City are no more responsible for Detroit’s problems than were the victims of Hurricane Sandy for theirs, and eventually Congress decided to help them. America is just as much about aiding those less fortunate as it is about personal responsibility....

The finger-pointing for Detroit’s decades of decline usually starts with the 1967 race riots. High pensions for unionized workers get its share of the blame, as does the global economic trends that upended the auto industry. Meanwhile, racial politics and white flight to the suburbs rightly earn a place as a driver of the city’s blight.

Detroit became the largest US city to ever file for bankruptcy on Thursday, seeking protection from its creditors as it restructures more than $18bn in debt.  Richard Snyder, Michigan’s Republican governor, said in a letter included in the filing. “Detroit simply cannot raise enough revenue to meet its current obligations and that is a situation that is only projected to get worse absent a bankruptcy filing. Kevyn Orr, who Mr Snyder appointed in March to serve as Detroit’s emergency manager, has stirred controversy by putting the claims of holders of general obligation bonds – which are backed by taxes –...

Detroit on Thursday became the largest American city to declare bankruptcy, officially succumbing to job losses in the auto industry, decades of population flight, and the collapse of revenue to cover everything from policing to street lighting. "Let me be blunt: Detroit's broke," Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said as he recited a litany of ills that helped steer the decision and that made Detroit — once a gleaming example of American industry — into an urban wreck with debts of $18 billion. The announcement came four months after Snyder named Washington bankruptcy expert Kevyn Orr — who represented Chrysler during...

Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Rosemarie Aquilina ordered on Friday that Detroit’s bankruptcy be withdrawn. Aquilina said the 2012 Michigan law that allowed Gov. Rick Snyder to approve the city’s bankruptcy filing, the largest municipal bankruptcy filing ever in the United States, violates the Michigan Constitution. Specifically, Article IX Section 24, which holds that pension plans and retirement systems “shall not be diminished or impaired.” Aquilina said that she will ensure that President Barack Obama gets a copy of her order. “It’s also not honoring the president, who took [Detroit’s auto companies] out of bankruptcy.” [This seems like someone saying...

Ingham County Circuit Judge Rosemary Aquillina ordered on Friday that Detroit’s bankruptcy be withdrawn, citing a concern that government employees’ pensions would be endangered by federal bankruptcy proceedings, The Detroit News reports. “It’s cheating, sir, and it’s cheating good people who work,” the judge told assistant Attorney General Brian Devlin on Friday, adding that she will ensure that President Barack Obama gets a copy of her order. “It’s also not honoring the president, who took [Detroit’s auto companies] out of bankruptcy.” At the same time, Aquillina voiced her confidence that Obama would ensure that pension guarantees were protected and honored....

Where’s the “thou shalt not offend Obama” clause in the Michigan state constitution? I’m unable to find it. …Prior to her ruling on Friday, (Judge Rosemary Aquilina) criticized the Snyder administration and Attorney General’s Office for what appeared to be hasty action to outflank pension board attorneys. “It’s cheating, sir, and it’s cheating good people who work,” the judge told assistant Attorney General Brian Devlin. “It’s also not honoring the (United States) president, who took (Detroit’s auto companies) out of bankruptcy.”Aquilina said she would make sure President Obama got a copy of her order. …

With Detroit filing for Chapter 9 bankruptcy, everybody knows major root-canal cutbacks are coming. Cutbacks of out-of-control government spending, pensions and health benefits. Major cutbacks. We know that. We also know that the downfall of Detroit is again proof positive that the public-union collective-bargaining model has utterly failed. Unions just loot the benefit lockbox at taxpayer expense. That was the message of Gov. Scott Walker's victorious crusade in Wisconsin. If any good comes out of the Detroit debacle, it will be the spread of that message across the country. But there's another important point here. If Detroit is to truly...

If the residents of the city of Detroit want to blame any person or organization for its Chapter 9 filing, they only need to look as far as the unions that controlled labor there and the politicians who ran it over the past four decades. Detroit earned its bankruptcy the easy way — through greed, the desire for political power and poor planning. Bond holders do not deserve the kind of responsibility that those who ran Detroit do. However, they, and their bankers, were willing to keep the city afloat by buying paper that was risky. They took the risk...

Detroit just became the biggest city to file for bankruptcy in America. ....Many people are hoping that bankruptcy, the largest of its kind on U.S. soil, will give Detroit another chance. But that'll remain wishful thinking until Detroit reverses its backward economic strategy. Every mayor for the last two decades has tried to jump-start Detroit by reviving its crumbling downtown. In the 1990s, Dennis Archer erected stadiums and casinos. His successor, Kwame Kilpatrick (now serving time on federal extortion and racketeering charges) hosted mega-events.... Since then, however, things have only gotten worse as more residents have fled and city services...

(Reuters) - Detroit's historic municipal bankruptcy filing on Thursday came less than 10 minutes before lawyers for the city's pension funds and retirees had rushed to another court to try to block it. The bare bones bankruptcy petition, which came at 4:06:22 p.m., blindsided everyone in the room, according to two lawyers who were in state court in Lansing, Michigan, at the time. Even the lawyer representing the governor and the judge were caught unaware. "I think everybody was surprised," said Bill Wertheimer, an attorney for a group of current and retired Detroit city workers who filed a lawsuit early...

The City of Detroit filed for bankruptcy Thursday in federal court, trying to get out from under billions in debt. If approved it would be the largest city bankruptcy in U.S. history. The filing was under what is called Chapter 9 of the U.S. code, which allows municipalities to restructure debt under bankruptcy protection. The bankruptcy filing begins a 30-to-90 day period during which the court will determine whether the city is eligible for Chapter 9 and how many creditors will want a piece of the city’s limited resources. A city must be insolvent to seek Chapter 9 protection. Detroit...

In Detroit, bankruptcy lawyer turned city manager Kevyn Orr is playing hardball while preparing the city for a likely Chapter 9 bankruptcy. He’d like the various stakeholders to negotiate a “pre-packaged” bankruptcy in order to avoid a drawn-out and extremely costly legal battle, but reaching agreement could be incredibly tough, as Reuters points out: [G]etting everyone on board for a pre-packaged plan is easier said than done, said Douglas Bernstein, a bankruptcy attorney at Plunkett Cooney in the Detroit area.“When it comes to a pre-packaged plan, the big question is whether he (Orr) would have enough acceptance going into court,”...

DETROIT, MI - Bankruptcy may be inevitable for Michigan's largest city. State leaders, including Gov. Rick Snyder, are working on a plan to guide the city through a "managed bankruptcy," according to Daniel Howes at The Detroit News. An emergency fiscal manager likely would take over the city, supplanting a mayor and City Council that have been unable to implement meaningful reforms.

San Bernardino filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday citing more than $1 billion of debts and making it the third California city to seek protection from creditors. The city of about 210,000 residents 65 miles east of Los Angeles declared a fiscal crisis last month after a report said local government had tapped out its reserves and projected spending would top revenue by $45 million in the fiscal year that began on July 1. The filing, made in the United States Bankruptcy Court, Central California District, states that the city has "more than $1 billion" in liabilities, and estimated that...

Despite objections from the mayors of California's ten largest cities, the Assembly last week approved Assembly Bill 1692 by Fremont Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski. The bill will make it harder for cities to seek bankruptcy protection. It reneges on a carefully crafted compromise measure approved just six months ago that requires financially beleaguered cities to enter into good-faith negotiations with their creditors—including most significantly, public employee unions—before filing for bankruptcy protection. Stockton was in the midst of that mediation when the bill to undo it began moving in the Legislature. Just how bad are things in Stockton? Well how's this for...

STOCKTON - The City Council on Tuesday is expected to take its first step toward filing for bankruptcy in a dramatic move to remedy Stockton's crippling finances. If bankruptcy ultimately happens, Stockton would be the nation's largest city to fall into Chapter 9 protection. While city administrators remained silent on any plans, it became an open secret Wednesday. The Downtown Stockton Alliance board of directors in a public meeting discussed the city's bankruptcy timetable. Also Wednesday, the San Joaquin and Calaveras counties Central Labor Council distributed an email, alerting its members that Stockton plans to begin the process at next...