Cries of Betrayal as Detroit Plans to Cut Pensions

[Igel]

19. There'll be something.

Nobody's going to let the pensioners starve. Corporations have their pensions taken over by a federal entity, that might happen here.

However the first thing to do is not let the crisis go to waste. The city has, for years, done foolish things. Perhaps less often recently, perhaps more often. But this has been coming for a long time and the steps taken to minimize the problems that would hit weren't taken. There was no incentive to take them. They played kick the can. They relied on their rich uncle to step in when things got bad. They've run out of street for kicking the can. The rich uncle is sending back the letters asking for help marked "return to sender."

If we had an immediate bailout, it would be a return to status quo. Foolish things would probably continue.

If we had no bailout at all, it would be a disaster.

Think of this as an intervention. Don't promise help. Make it look like there is no help. Make them come up with the best solution they can. If the PTB think that it's still foolish, tell the city that it's either make harder choices or court disaster--and they've already been introduced and even set up a first date. Only when there's been progress do you start discussing bailout.

The problem is that if you start talking bailout immediately the city, left to its own, might play chicken and say, "Bring on the disaster, then--and we'll duck responsibility with our voters."

"The city" is my weaselly term in for one of the following terms: city manager, city politicians, city electorate.