Detroit throws in the towel

Berlin in 1945 or America in 2013?

Detroit, the eleventh largest city in America declared bankruptcy.  This is not a surprise but it should be a warning to everyone.  There are four other cities in Michigan in similar straits (ironic since Detroit means "the straits") and other cities in America like Stockton, CA and San Bernodino, CA who are in the same boat.

The governor of Michigan appointed an "Emergency Manager" who has nearly dictatorial powers and has rendered the Mayor and City Council of Detroit impotent.  This sounds a lot like what happened to Rome.  Gross mismanagement followed by dictatorship.

The city government failed by spending more than it had.  The unions failed by demanding more than the city had and the city of course agreed.  Several corrupt mayors came and went (straight into a jail cell). The voters kept putting the same people in and in while cheering on "soak the rich" policies that drove away businesses and investment.

Almost 40% of the street lights don't work, there are over 77,000 abandoned buildings, and there are wild dogs and even wilder humans running around large stretches of the abandoned city.

If you give Greece a lot of crap for its financial problems, Athens will point past you and at Detroit.  How does this affect anyone living outside of Detroit?

 Take a look at the federal government's balance sheet.