From the Free Press:
http://www.freep.com/article/2011111...-cash-by-April
The skyrocketing costs of health care and pensions are the root causes of the budget crisis, and there are very few options on the table to manage them.
Even if the city had a growing tax base, the health care/pension problem would still bankrupt the city in a matter of years.
This is the same root problem that drove the big three to the brink of collapse, and it is now a major problem for the public sector.
The private sector has responded to this crisis with an elimination of pensions and retiree health care plans, and rapidly increasing copays and deductibles for existing employees. The public sector has no choice but to follow suit. Detroit will probably be one of the first major government entities to have to deal with this crisis, but it is just a matter of time before this situation hits even the most fiscally sound units of government.
At some point very soon, probably within a decade or so, pensions will be completely unheard of, and health insurance will become a luxury only affordable for the rich.