Detroit residents on bankruptcy: Don’t forget about us
City workers and politicians and budget analysts in Detroit know the numbers behind the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.
The city owes $20 billion in long term debt, to just about 100,000 different creditors.
But the residents of Detroit — the people living the impacts of the bankruptcy — have their own thoughts.
Charlie LeDuff is a reporter who grew up in Detroit. He told Marketplace Host Kai Ryssdal that the mood isn’t so great in his hometown city.
“If you’re a retiree from the municipality, you’re a cop, a fireman, anybody earning a pension now, you’re screwed,” LeDuff says. And even though Detroit’s restoration could take years, LeDuff hasn’t given up all hope. “If you could say it poetically, Detroit is a town built by the little man. Where is his future? That’s the true question. “
LeDuff says that even though the city may face some tough times, he’ll stick it out in the city he grew up in.
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