Monday, August 3, 2009

Moribund Detroit

"Detroit's public-school system, beset by massive deficits and widespread corruption, is on the brink of following local icons GM and Chrysler into bankruptcy court. ... Such a filing would be unprecedented in the US. Although a few major urban school districts have come close; none has gone through with a bankruptcy, according to legal and education experts. ... Some experts say the Detroit case could be the fist in a string of Chapter 9 bankruptcies among school districts and other public entities battered by the economic crisis, and it could help shape that area of the law. 'Given the state of public finance,' says Samuel Gerdano, executive director of the American Bankruptcy Institute, 'I think the wave is coming.' ... Even after millions of dollars in budget cuts in the spring, including 29 school closings and thousands of layoffs, the district started the fiscal year this month with a $259 million deficit", Alex Kellogg at the WSJ, 21 July 2009, link:

Good luck Detroit. Do you still like muni bonds? Why?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It's like hitting the reset button...

Pretty politicians promised pensions prospectively. And many other things. Can't pay up. Kaboom.

Education needn't be costly. Reading, writing, arithmetic. Get on it. The rest is needless fluff.

OK Detroit. Show us how it is done.