Detroit Bankruptcy At A Glance

Forbes magazine has a quick rundown on the largest municipal bankruptcy filing in the history of the United States. That would be Detroit where an emergency manager appointed by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder made the decision to file a Chapter 9 bankruptcy in the federal district court. The city has $18.5 billion in debt, spending 38 cents of every dollar raised on debt service. Detroit is the highest tax city in Michigan, and it would have to spend 65 cents of every dollar taken in by the year 2017 just to stay current in its debt obligations. Its current budget deficit exceeds $326 million, a figure that will grow to $1.3 billion by 2017 without bankruptcy protection. Here are some quick facts that help explain the Motor City's dilemma:

• Its population has fallen from 1.86 million in 1950 to 700,000 today.
• The city had 200,000 manufacturing jobs in 1950 compared to fewer than 20,000 manufacturing jobs now.
• It proves having professional sports teams aren't the panacea to urban success with four teams, including the Detroit Lions (football), Detroit Tigers (baseball), Detroit Red Wings (hockey) and Detroit Pistons (basketball).
• It has the highest crime rate in the country for cities larger than 200,000.
• The Detroit Arts Institute has one of the largest municipal art collections in the world, some of which may be sold due to the bankruptcy.
• It has three casinos, which fund about 15% of the city's general fund.
• Detroit's mass transit does not include rail, although it has plans for a 3.3 mile streetcar line.
• Detroit has 78,000 abandoned buildings.
• Property taxes are delinquent on 47% of the city's taxable property.

UPDATE: Fellow blogger and friend Debbie Schlussel, a Detroit native, has a spot on analysis of the deep-rooted problems in Detroit the political correctness crowd won't permit to be said.