No, they could not. The current deal with the banks on the swap debt could not have been reached without the bankruptcy--it almost wasn't reached with the bankruptcy. The changes in retiree benefits aren't final yet, but you can be reasonably sure that whatever they end up being, they wouldn't have been possible outside bankruptcy. Nor could the other proposed debt reductions, although again those aren't final so we will have to see how they turn out. But nonetheless I don't see how the balance sheet of the city without bankruptcy could have been anywhere near as good as it will be with bankruptcy. Which is the reason your assertion about Detroit's ability to borrow is probably also wrong--lenders care more about your actual financial condition than your past.
If you are talking about management, staffing, and operational changes, I expect in general those could have been done outside bankruptcy, but of course they hadn't been. Maybe just bringing in the EM would have been sufficient.
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