By William Boardman -- Reader Supported News
"Through its provisions, Public Act 436 establishes a new form of local government, previously unknown within the United States or the State of Michigan, where the people within local municipalities may be governed by an unelected official who establishes local law by decree."
-- Complaint for Injunctive Relief, Phillips et al. v. Snyder, U.S. District Court for Eastern Michigan
"We are a country of law.... The government cannot just abrogate contracts."
-- Obama economic adviser Larry Summers, quoted by Matt Taibbi discussing the sanctity of contracts in "Looting the Pension Funds"
"Pension benefits are a contractual right and are not entitled to any heightened protection in a municipal bankruptcy."
-- U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Steven Rhodes speaking from the Bench on December 3, and contravening the Michigan Constitution while granting Detroit federal bankruptcy protection
Detroit's recent bankruptcy eligibility was achieved in part by the Michigan governor defying a court order, the Detroit czar defying a court order, and a federal bankruptcy court telling other federal and state courts that their orders and the cases before them challenging the constitutionality of state law and state actions simply don't matter.
Since December 3, the dominant media narrative following Judge Steven Rhodes's bankruptcy court ruling suggests, in over-simplified form, that Detroit's one man government can dispose of most of the city's estimated $18 billion debt and long term liabilities by defaulting on pension contracts and selling off its art collection. This is essentially false as an overview, and false in most of its details.
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