Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
"After years of population losses and mounting debt, Detroit filed for bankruptcy on July 18, becoming the largest city in U.S. history to hit the reset button. The move was an acknowledgement that the Motor City, once the richest in America, was incapable of digging itself out from an $18 billion hole. 'The 2009 bailouts may have revived the carmakers,' TIME wrote after the filing, 'but they haven’t saved the city.' To some residents, especially municipal workers and retirees who stand to have their pensions cut, declaring bankruptcy amounted to a particularly embarrassing surrender for a once-mighty city. But to supporters, settling with creditors and restructuring nearly $3.5 billion in unfunded pension obligations was seen as an essential step to restoring financial solvency and, as Michigan Governor Rick Snyder said the day of the filing, make a 'fresh start' without 'burdens of debt it cannot hope to repay.' The bankruptcy also served as a wake-up call to municipalities across the country struggling with their own shaky finances. They’ll be watching closely as Detroit attempts to turn its historic collapse into a model of urban recovery." [Time Top 10 U.S. News Stories 2013]