You have to have little understanding of bankruptcy and the situation to make this assertion.
First of all, we would not ever just waltz into bankruptcy without an EM forcing our hand. Aside from the obvious fact that we've been broke for a long time and never entered bankruptcy, the pensioners are fighting BK tooth and nail right now. Why? Because they lose their state protections in federal bankruptcy. The pensions would
never willingly enter bankruptcy. Their
only shot would be to get a sweetheart settlement outside of bankruptcy court - it's naive to think they'd agree to give up their state protections.
Second, as a resident, I'm glad Orr is here. He is the first and only person in municipal bankruptcy to make the argument that general obligation bondholders are unsecured creditors. Ever. That is sending shockwaves across the municipal finance scene - Orr is screwing over bondholders to get more money for Detroiters. And by taking more money from bondholders, he's actually giving more space for pensioners to get some money. Without Orr's novel legal arguments, pensioners would automatically get in line behind both secured creditors and general obligation bondholders.
Not to mention, that because we opted for the best in the business [[Orr and Jones Day), we are entering bankruptcy with a comprehensive pre-BK plan, unlike Stockton or Jefferson Co, Alabama. This plan both protects Detroiters and speeds up the process, which is why we might be out of BK in a year while Stockton
hasn't even ruled on eligibility a year after filing. The Free Press explains it in full detail
here.
Orr isn't some friends-and-family appointee like Detroit is used to seeing. He's top-notch and I'm glad he's on my side. Makes me sick to see the way Detroit was outhustled and outlawyered and outsmarted on so many of these financial deals that screwed the city over. Nice to finally be the savvy one.