detroit isn't dead exactly, but what killed detroit? >> what killed detroit? racial conflict killed detroit. sloth killed detroit. corruption killed detroit. seems like that's what has become the american way, because detroit is not alone. what's baltimore going to do? what's atlanta going to do? what is l.a. going to do? >> but detroit is in worse shape. worse politicians, more unions, the automakers collapsing. a lot of people saying it wasn't the politicians, it was just the big three crashed. >> it was all of them. we're a one industry town, we were rich, everybody put their hand in the till from management to politicians to unions. you could punch in your buddy while he went drinking. we blew it. and i know everybody is watching detroit, not because you care about it, but worried you're going to be like us. >> that's true. we want to see if bankruptcy is the answer, but this may mean stiffing the people who were promised pensions. they may get 20 cents on the dollar what they were promised. >> i know. the golden age is over, isn't it? we just really ruine

detroit? >> it will turn around the city of detroit. >> the motor city. this is will we do. john: what's up with detroit? can this happen to your town? that's our show tonight. ♪ >> and now john stossel. ♪ john: detroit was once the richest city in america. i was three years old and. that was the 1950's. now it's the biggest u.s. city ever to declare bankruptcy. so what happened? our guests tonight have some clues. first, fox news reporter works in detroit and just wrote, detroit, an americanutopsy. an autopsy, one examines the dead body and tries to find out what killed him. detroit isn't that exactly. what killed the trust? >> would kill the charge, racial conflict of detroit. slav kl detroit. corruption children. it seems like that is what has become the american way because detroit is not alone. what is baltimore going to do, atlanta, l.a. john: detroit is and worse shape. worse politicians, morenions. the automaker collapsed. it was in the politicians' fault. it was just the big three

bring detroit back because people invested detroit. john: you wrote the book to try to explain this to people. it's titled belle isle, the detroit game changer. the new york times, i'm not surprised to must near you. the writer said that the book has the hero landing on the rooftop helipad o the 57 story hotel. it makes the entire scheme very easy to mock as objective is to fan fiction. objective is referring to eyeing rand. you are a fan of hers. >> i am. john: you talk of having a billion dollars, trying to buy this from the city. within this city would gym but that. politicians often surprise me. detroit city council members don't want to give up much of anything when michigan' governor offered to have the state takeover belle island park since detroit can't even afford to maintain it, local politicians scrmed. >> you may not take over bell island. it belongs to the people. john: it belongs to the people, not to you. >> this would create a lot of jobs and opportunity. right now there's no hope for the future. this would create that

detroit? >> it will turn around the city of detroit. >> the motor city. this is will we do. john: what's up with detroit? can this happen to your town? that's our showonight. ♪ >> and now john stossel. ♪ john detroit was once the richest city in america. i was three years old and. that was the 1950's. now it's the biggest u.s. city ever to declare bankruptcy. so what happened? our guests tonight have some clues. first, fox news reporter works in detroit and jt wrote, detroit, an american autopsy. an autopsy, one examines the dead body and tries to find out what killed him. detroit isn't that exactly. what killed the trust? >> wld kill the charge, racial conflict of detroit. slav kill detroit. corruption children. it seems like that is what has become the american way because detroit is notlone. what is baltimore going to do, atlanta, l.a. john: detroit is and worse shape. rse politicians, more unions. the automaker collapsed. it was in the politicians' fault. it was just the big three cras

you killed detroit. you killed detroit. you killed detroit. everybody killed detroit. [ cheers and applause ] now nobody gets a car. well, actually you do but it's a more affordable car imported from countries like. ♪ japan and. ♪ korea where the cars are cheaper because the prices aren't pushed up by things like. ♪ higher labor costs look, these musicals are catchy. that's a fact. i don't want to argue about it. folks, if everyone created this mess, who ultimately is going to pay the price for it? will it be, a, vulnerable working class retirees. or will it be, b, it's a. >> workers are bracing for what could happen to their pensions and health care. >> the real victims are going to be people who are essentially going to see their contracts with detroit broken. pensioners, public sector workers. folks in unions. >> i get it. so detroit's auto industry was too big to fail but detroit's public sector workers are just small enough not to give a [bleep] about it. here is how crazy this story is is. we all detroit to emerge from bankruptcy o

. >> stephen: speaking of institutions that have outlived their usefulness-- detroit. >> now detroit has fallen on such hard times the city is filing for bankruptcy, becoming the largest u.s. city to do so >> move is unprecedented. the biggest municipal bankruptcy in american history. a major u.s. city officially declaring it cannot pay its debt estimated at $18 billion. >> stephen: $18 billion! and detroit borrowed those billions from some pretty serious people. if they don't get paid, they've thrented to cut off michigan's thumb. ( laughter ) now, it turns out, robo cop was an optimistic view of detroit's future because the numbers tell the story. the city's population has dwibdle twd 2 million to 700,000. detroit has the highest unemployment rate in the nation, and at 73,000 abandoned buildings. knowing how far the city has fallen would have henry ford rolling over in his grave and somehow blaming the jews for it. notice, there are a lot of theories out there, about what caused detroit's decline-- manufacturing jobs going overseas. corrupt politicians. but the easiest explanation

bring detroit back because people invested detroit. john: you wrote the book to try to explain this to people. it's titled belle isle, the detroit game changer. the new york times, i'm not surprised to must near you. the writer said that the book has the hero landing on the rooftop helipad of the 57 story hotel. it makes the entire scheme very easy to mock as objective is to fan fiction. objective is referring to eyeing rand. you are a fan of hers. >> i am. john: you talk of having a billion dollars, trying to buy this from the city. within this city would gym but that. politicians often surprise me. detroit city council members don't want to give up much of anything when michigan's governor offered to have the state takeover belle island park since detroit can't even afford to maintain it, local politicians screamed. >> you may not take over bell island. it belongs to the people. john: it belongs to the people, not to you. >> this would create a lot of jobs and opportunity. right now there's no hope for the future. this would create t

bring detroit back because people invested detroit. john: you wrote the book to try to explain this toeople. it's titled belle isle, the detroit game changer. the new york times, i'm not surprised to must near you. the writer said that the book has the hero landing on the rooftop helipad of the 57 story hotel. it makes the entire scheme very easy to mock as objective is to fan fiction. objective is referring to eyeing rand. you are a fan of hers. >> i am. john: you talk of having a billion dollars, trying to buy this from the city. within this city would gym but that. politicians often surprise me. detroit city council members don't want to give up much of anything when michigan's governor offered to have the state takeover belle island park since detroit can't even afford to maintain it, local politicians screamed. >> you may not take over bell island. it belongs to the people. john: it belongs to the people, not to you. >> this would create a lot of jobs and opportunity. right now there's no hope for the future. this would create tha

bring detroit back because people invested detroit. john: you wrote the book to try to expla this to people. it's titled belle isle, the deoit game changer. the new york times i'm not surprised to must near you. the writer said that the book has the hero landing on the rooftop helipad of the 57 story hotel. it makes the entire scheme very easy to mock as objective is to fan fiction. objective is referring to eyeing rand. you are a fan of hers. >> i am. john: you talk of having a billion dollars, tryingo buy this from the city. within this city would gym but that. politicians often surprise me. detroit city council members don't want to give umuch of anything when michigan's governor offered to have the state takeover belle iand park since detroit can't even afford to maintain it, local politians screamed. >> you may notake over bell island. belongs to the people. john: it belongs to the people, not to you. >> this would create a lot of jobs and opportunity. right now there's no hope for the future. this would create that held. john: th

bring detroit back because people invested detroit. john: you wrote the book to try to explain this to people. it's titled belle isle, the detroit gamehanger. thnew rk times, i'm not surprised to must near you. the writer said that the book has the hero landing onthe rooftop helipad of the 57 story hotel. it makes the entire scheme vy easy to mock as objective is to fan fiction. objective is referringo eyeing rand. you are a fan of hers. >> i am. john: you talk of having a billion dollars, trying to buy this from the city. within this city would gym but that. politicians often surprise me. detroit city council members don't want to give up much of anything when michigan's governor offered to have the state takver belle island park since detroit can't even afford to maintain it, local politicians screamed. >> you may not take over bell isla. it belongs to the people. john: it belongs to the people, not to you. >> this would create a lot of jobs and opportu. rit now there's no hope for the future. this would create that held. john: this

we had first the white of detroit leading detroit and then the black leading detroit, their tax basically decimated, the manufacturing sector basically falling apart and they don't have jobs. it's a very bad situation that's been a long time in the making and it's going to be very hard to solve. >> charles? >> it's sort of a classic example of a city that was once as its peak and has taken all of the success and to get away and decline has not been able to adopt. it was a thriving industry, obviously the auto industry was running the world in the '60s after the second world war when there was no competition. they got used to the great union benefits, the retirement, health care, they got used to all of the other handouts and money from the government and when hard times arrived, it was impossible to, in the end, do anything because it would be seen as a cruel reduction of x, y, and z and now they wind up in a place that everyone is going to get a haircut, the bond holders and the citizens. the question is, that started in the united states which dominated the world economically, created a

we will speak about the motor city with detroit native mark binelli, author of, "detroit city is the pace to be: the afterlife of an american metropolis." then, elite pakistani report challenges u.s. claims of a low civilian toll from the drone war in pakistan. >> the gulf between the media's understanding and the resurgence understanding of what is taking place in pakistan, and with the cia and white house claim, is growing bigger, not smaller. >> we will go to london to speak with chris woods of the bureau of investigative journalism. if you watched television for even a minute yesterday, chances are you know, it's a boy. >> it is exciting. a boy will be great for great britain. i think it is exciting for will and kate. media frenzy greets the arrival of a new heir to the british throne, we will speak with british journalist laurie penny on the babies we don't care about today. all of that and more coming up. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. a leaked pakistani government report has bolstered claims that civilian casualties from u.

we should not bail out detroit. this issue of sharing the burden that has been talked about so much since the crisis. over the weekend, the german finance minister said when it came to the issue of debt burden, it is a matter of justice and fairness that multinational companies pay their fair contributions. it is not just about sharing the burden among the states. multinationals have to pay. >> we are trying to -- the lessons we got from the european crisis is that you cannot have a zimbabwe on the front tier of europe. when you look at the germans, we swim or sink together. the u.s., it took 100 years to be a monetary union. you would have the same problems , liquidity on the market. sharing the burden between the private sectors and the people, how you share is an issue. >> it is an issue we will continue to follow because this story is not going to be over. i want to thank you for joining us. thank you for being with us. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >>> hello there. welcome to

can detroit be saved? >> i think, of course, detroit can be saved but this is the end of a long process, a long slow decline and probably a lot of decisions that were unable to be made for all kinds of reasons that developed over time and now we are at the end where there is 18 billion to $20 billion of debt and no way to service that debt. and it's going to be very, very painful. general motors bankruptcy and chrysler bankruptcy. i was on the board when we had to go through bankruptcy and the airline emerged and at that time independent and stronger and ultimately merged with delta. this is not a pleasant process. i think they deserve in facing up to this and they have provided accounting and unfortunately detroit not the only city like this and unfortunately maybe the only state. we will learn from this and it's going hob hard and difficult and painful. >> it's not the first city to file for bankruptcy. >> not at all. by far the largest. >> they have seen others. we have seen others, as you say, for exam

michelle, dallas versus detroit. dallas has the same budget that detroit has and dallas has 1.2 to 5 resident where detroit only has sen hundred. >> are we overtaxing the people detroit? >> this are not enough bodies and there is a reason why there are no bodies there, detroit has the highest taxes anywhere in michigan. they pay so much money and that is dliefing people out. why would you stay in detroit when you can go to neighboring areas. the problem is not enough people. that is a symptom of the problem. >> and the corporate tax welfare that helped to bankrupt the city. you have retired who worked and save and about to lose that 19,000 pension that theirs and have that stolen from them and yet at the same time we are building a 233 million stadium? >> solutions. >> we have to get rid of the corporate tax welfare system. >> you are talking about increasing corporate taxes. >> i think there has toe a balance. d detroit doesn't have the balance when it comes to providing welfar president obama in the opening clip sa

michelle, dallas versus detroit. dallas has the same budget that detroit has and dallas has 1.2 to 5 resident where detroit only has sen hundred. >> are we overtaxing the people of detroit? >> this are not enough bodies and there is a reason why there are no bodies there, detroit has the highest taxes anywhere in michigan. they pay so much money and that is dliefing people out. why would you stay in detroit when you can go to neighboring areas. the problem is not enough people. that is a symptom of the problem. >> and the corporate tax welfare that helped to bankrupt the city. you have retired who worked and save and about to lose that 19,000 pension that is theirs and have that stolen from them and yet at the same time we are building a 233 million stadium? >> solutions. >> we have to get rid of the corporate tax welfare system. >> you are talking about increasing corporate taxes. >> i think there has to be a balance. and detroit doesn't have the balance when it comes to providing welfare. president obama in the ope

about the detroit wrote an editorial that said let detroit go bankrupt, and it was about the detroit automakers, and that is what he was referring to, it was about the auto companies. >> the president said he saved detroit. we wouldn't let detroit go bankrupt. now, guess what, detroit is now bankrupt, is it not? >> when romney was talking about detroit, they were talking about the detroit auto industry. >> i can only listen to his words. you wouldn't want me to distort his words, would you? >> he was talking about the auto industry right there. >> he said detroit. detroit is now bankrupt. why? >> he was talking -- the phrase "let detroit go bankrupt" was mitt romney's phrase in reference to the auto companies. >> hugh, it's happening. >> it has happened and in companies. austin, the most important thing to focus on is detroit has collapsed urnder the very sort f policies the press is pushing. blue cross did coverage for small businesses because of the rollout of obamacare. when the president said in a never-ending speech today that we're just getting started with obamacare, that's no

detroit files for bankruptcy. what's next for its residents including thousands of city employees and retirees. and what does it say about the plight of america's cities in this fragile economic recovery? we'll hear from the current and former governors of the state. the man now in office, republican rick snyder and his predecessor, democrat jennifer granholm. plus insights and analysis from david brooks of "the new york times" and nbc's chuck todd. >> announcer: from nbc news in washington, the world's longest-running television program, this is "meet the press with david gregory." >> good sunday morning. a week after the not guilty verdict for george zimmerman, justice for trayvon rallies held outside federal buildings yesterday in 100 u.s. cities including new york, here in washington, chicago, los angeles, and dallas. the message of rally organizers, trayvon's death should focus more attention on race, crime and justice in america. and that's where we begin this morning. we've got a special group assembled to

policies which allowed whites to leave detroit and prevented blacks from leaving detroit is really a major component of the foundation for. nation of the crisis that we're in i'll give you an example of that opening county is one of the counties that as a michigander you know joins and abuts and shares some borders with the droid is the fourth richest county in the united states of america with a population of more than a million but oakland county has been exposed to some of the very same macro trends that detroit has it has not had the same result regarding your comments about public sector workers you are completely spot on you know the single biggest budget item in the detroit city budget for several years now has been that service it's been wall street financiers who've come to detroit and who made incredibly sleazy deals very similar to those we saw in the bankruptcy of jefferson county alabama that have put detroit in a strike in a financial straitjacket reduced revenues increased costs for four debt service and again here we are how do you think this is going to play out. wel

all over detroit. don't even call them homes anymore. >> it's essentially collapsed. >> that's right, that's right. >> this will come down if we're able to get the funding for it and what we're doing is focusing on the debris, found a dead body within the perimeter, non-structural blight. in this neighborhood and get a shot, working to clear it out. you found a dead body. >> yeah, we did, our contractors did. >> completely untended. >> our contractors found it and found a lot of interesting things in here. if we come in and clean this up it can become a viable neighborhood. there is a house that you can see. these are the homes that existed this way. >> they are watching our equipment at night to make sure they don't break into it. we don't have concerns anymore because of all the hustle and bustle and land clearing it removes the ability for criminal activity to occur. >> hey, you're a rich guy, grandfather built pulte homes. they don't give a damn and they are making a material impact. getting a payc

producer amir david recently traveled to detroit to see what lies ahead for the motor city. we cannot and must. and we will not while it may seem like a calamity of the distant past it was only four years ago that the obama administration rode to the rescue of two detroit automakers general motors and chrysler the federal government port eighty billion dollars into the companies extending them a lifeline out of a looming bankruptcy the will but it seems the city of detroit won't get the same bailout. even after declaring a twenty billion dollar debt becoming the largest municipal bankruptcy in u.s. history and this time around city employees will feel it the most as they are likely to see significant cuts to their pensions and post employment health care benefits but while the voice of concern is reverberating throughout the city it hasn't quite overtaken another sentiment one that's magnified over the last few years i've been here all of my life and i see no good in it being not black it is more good as come these people is buying business these games and i see a lot of con

this breaks my heart about detroit. i love detroit and people of mesh mish are wonderful. and now it is in tatters. you know, president obama, i want to play a clip because i think it is significant. this is what president obama said about detroit a year ago. >> we refuse to let detroit go bankrupt. i bet on american work sxers three years that bet is paying off in a big way. >> elle, he said i will not let it go bankrupt and these bets are paying off in a big way. >> there may be a big difference tone betting on american corporations and american people. corporations are not people and maybe we should bail out people and not the corporation. >> go a head. >> we are blaming capitalism for the down fall of detroit. no, how about the corruption and generational democratic rule in that city and the unions that held the public sector hostage as things were changing in the car industry there. they didn't adopt and the level of corruption and democratic rule. throw money and do what the unions say. that led to the down faul of detroit. >> this is a clip from jo- wattson put in p

this is not just detroit. there are 50,000 communities across the country that have lost factories since the year 2000. this is not a democratic problem. this is a problem across the country. >> chuck todd, who let detroit down? which politicians let them down? >> i think there was poor governance in detroit for a very long time. this turned into a machine political town, if you followed that. in my 25 years of following politics, you know, it was a city -- and i remember the first reform movement of detroit, when dennis archer got elected mayor, sort of when they replaced in the coal man young era, it was that first attempt. and there was a lot of cities that did that. you saw here in washington, d.c., and you saw these attempts. you know, one mayor couldn't change things because you had 30 years of cronyism. it was a machine. >> but if i told you -- i'm sorry, if i told you that a city on the border of america's largest trading partner couldn't figure out how to diversify its economy, you have to sit there a

michelle, dallas versus detroit. dallas h the same budget that detroit has and dallas has 1.2 to 5 residenthere detroit only has sen hundred. >> are we overtaxing the people of detroit? >> this arnot enough bodies and there is a reason why there are no bodies there, detroit has the highest taxes anywhere in michigan. they pay so much money and that is dlfing people out. why would you stay in detroit when you can to neighboring areas. the problem is not enough people. that is a symptom of the problem. >> and the corporate tax welfare that helped to bankrupt the city. you have retired who worked and save and about to lose that 19,000 pension that is theirs and have that stolen from them and yet at the same time we are building a 233 million stadium? >> solutions. >> we have to getrid of the corporate tax weare system. >> you are talking about increasing corpote taxes. >> i think there has to be a balance. and detroit doesn't have the balance when it comes to providing welfare. president obama in the opening clip said w

dagen: jeff flock in detroit. speaking of the municipal bond market, let's find out what one professional investor thinks the way some are being treated in this bankruptcy could set a dangerous precedent with far-reaching implications. so says peter hayes, who runs the fund group overseeing $114 billion in bond assets, a frequent guest on this program joining us now on the phone. thank you for calling in, especially today. we are talking the general obligation bond and the lenders that they are being treated like all other unsecured creditors. what does that mean for the bond market in general? >> thank you for having me on. i think the first part of that answer is in terms of the total amount of the claim about 18 billion, a little over 11 billion is unsecured. of that, over 9 billion of that pension obligations. talking about that as i can component of the overall claim. the overall part goes to your question, the general obligation bond. we consider other investors to do and have always been considered whether

we today make detroit work. detroit is the face of michigan. and we would be job one to wring back jobs to the state and in particular to detroit. i got to tell you, with all due respect to the governor, this is not sour grapes. until this bankruptcy, we haven't seen any action in detroit. there hasn't been a focus on detroit. the governor who said over and over again that everything he did would be seen through the prism of all jobs created for the state, i don't know of one job he brought to detroit. the first thing he did is destroy the movie credit which was bringing move oes and businesses, studios built in the detroit area. he wiped that out as job one. >> he has no plan for detroit. he has no plan and now he is blaming it on the last 60 years. i think that's very profound. >> exactly. >> michael, we did something for wall street. isn't there a main street? detroit we can help? what about this? is race an issue in this? >> absolutely, right, ed. i want to first say i join in with the mayor there, because your opening sermon was so powerfu

of detroit as well. stuart: you say you're going to stand with the city of detroit, but there's no way around it, creditors to detroit are going to take a massive loss. >> yeah, they are. stuart: and so, probably, are those 20,000 retirees. not much you can do about that, is there? >> the important people to think of here, stuart, are the citizens of detroit, the surrounding areas as well and the citizens of all michigan. again, when i was in the legislature we would pour millions and millions of dollars into detroit trying to rhesus state it, trying to improve it. you know, but when you've got 40% of all the street lights out. you've got 58 minutes for police response, you've got all of these other infrastructure things that have been crumbling over the decades, you've got to go in and fix those things. it's going to take some tough decisions from everybody, the unions, the employees, the citizens, and the people of michigan. stuart: congressman, clearly, the city's reached the end of the road. it's hit

dallas versus detroit. dallas that is the same budget that detroit has and dallas has 1.2725 million residents. are we talking about overtaxing people of detroit? >> exactly. the problem there aren't enough bodies. there is a reason there aren't bodies there. detroit has a highest taxes in anywhere in michigan. they pay so much money. that is driving people out. why are you going to stay in detroit when you you can go someplace else and pay less taxes. that is the symptom of the problem. >> one of big things is corporate tax welfare that has helped bankrupt the city. you have retirees that worked and saved. they are about to lose that $19,000 pension that is theirs. they are going to have it stolen from them yet at the same time we're going build $2733 million stadium? >> we've got to get rid of the corporate tax welfare system. >> eric: hold on. you are talking about increasing corporate taxes. >> i think there has to be a balance. detroit does not have that balance when it comes to providing welfare for t

this breaks my heart about detroit. i love detroit. people of michigan are wonderful people. detroit saved this country. now, we see it in tatters. you know, president obama, i want to play a little clip because i think it's significant before i ask both of you to respond. this is what president obama said about detroit little over a year ago. >> we refused to let detroit go bankrupt. three years later, paying off in a big way. >> said i'm not going to let it go bankrupt. these bets are paying off in a big way. >> maybe there's a big difference between betting on american corporations and american people. what we see is that corporations are not people and that maybe we should bail out people and not the corporations. >> go ahead. >> we're blaming capitalism for the downfall of detroit. no. how about we look at the corruption the generational democratic rule in that city. the unions that held that public sector hostage. the city hostage as things were changing in the industry and the car industry there. they didn't adapt and the level of kupgs and democratic rule to throw mon

policies which allowed whites to leave detroit and prevented blacks from leaving detroit is really a major component of the foundation for. nation of the crisis that we're in i'll give you an example of that opening county is one of the counties that as a michigander you know adjoins and abuts and shares some borders with the droid is the fourth richest county in the united states of america with a population of more than a million but oakland county has been exposed to some of the very same macro trends that detroit has it has not had the same results regarding your comments about public sector workers you are completely spot on you know the single biggest budget item in the detroit city budget for several years now has been that service it's been wall street financiers who've come to detroit and who made incredibly sleazy deals very similar to those we saw in the bankruptcy of jefferson county alabama that have port detroit in a straight in a financial straitjacket reduced revenues increased costs for ford debt service and again here we are how do you think this is going to play ou

that wasn't truth detroit. as you pointed out to brian, cities need to diversify and bring new industry in. that's going to be the challenge for detroit. they can't be a one-industry town. certainly not the auto industry. >> just a memory of things past, remember the super bowl ad with clint eastwood about detroit and chrysler and the whole notion that we were going to see a revival. and we did see a revival in the auto industry but as you point out, there's just fewer people needed. want to ask you about chicago. shawn had a downgrade and layoffs. city employees and more than 1,000 teachers apparently as well sp well. so chicago has its challenges. >> a lot of that is the same issue with, public pensions. irresponsible politicians made irresponsible commitments and didn't fund them and now the due bills are coming. the chicago schools face i think it is a $600 billion liability, maybe more and the rating agencies were responding to both the cities -- to the various city pension problems. we have a state legisl

this breaks my heart about detroit. i love detroit and people of mesh mish are wonderful. and now it is in tatters. you know, president obama, i want to play a clip because i think it is significant. this is what president obama said about detroit a year ago. >> we refuse to let detroit go bankrupt. i bet on american work sxers three years that bet is paying off in a big way. >> elle, he said i will not let it go bankrupt and these bets are paying off in a big way. >> there may be a big difference tone betting on american corporations and american people. corporations are not people and maybe we should bail out people and not the corporation. >> go a head. >> we are blaming capitalism for the down fall of detroit. no, how about the corruption and generational democratic rule in that city and the unions that held the public sector hostage as things were changing in the car industry there. they didn't adopt and the level of corruption and democratic rule. throw money and do what the unions say. that led to the down faul of detroit. >> this is a clip from jo- wattson put in p

how do you save detroit? >> well, there's going to have to be a substantial -- i think the biggest issue you've got there is the fact that they have continued to run public services back when they had a population of 1.7 million people. the population has declined by 63% in the last 60 years, but government continues to get bigger. they've got to make it smaller, and they've got to match what the taxpayers can afford. jenna: one of the reasons why this is such a big story is that it can set a precedent for other cities that are in financial trouble and how they deal with their unions and their pensions and their changing population and demographics. when we're watching this process, what do you think is the most important thing to watch to what it means for the country overall and how we're going to fix our real financial problems that are still there despite the fact that we're out of a recession? >> so it's very easy to look at detroit and say we could see this coming, it's a detroit problem, shame on them,

>> detroit needs help. we're headed there actually, to do our show live there, to take a look at the problems firsthand. also to look at the city's incredible history, joe. >> all right, thanks so much, mika. we're at the top of the hour. thank you so much for being with us. we really appreciate it. have a great weekend. stick around right now because chuck todd is next with "the daily rundown." >>> the motor city stalled. detroit becomes the largest municipal bankruptcy filing in u.s. history. a one-time iconic city can no longer pay its debts. estimated at $18 billion. also this morning, a house call. the next few months will decide what the 2014 battle will be about. we'll talk to the point people on both sides about the race to frame the fight for control of congress. and from 2014 to 2016 the woman who might be speaker again makes her hopes very clear. she's all aboard the hillary clinton train this time around. by the way, on the republican side, guess who's in iowa today. >>> good morning from washin

, as you pointed out the automobile created detroit and also destroyed detroit in a lot of ways so that is sort of one lesson, you have to stay focused on economic development you look at pittsburgh that lost the steel industry but today is doing quite well as a city because they found other things to do, the second lesson you have to learn is integrity in government, detroit had a series, the current mayor is a good guy but they had a series of corrupt. >> rose: the previous one went to jail. >> went to jail, mayors and the citizenry didn't really do anything about that and thirdly we have to be careful about the promises we make, and there is no question that detroit made promises to its workers, borrowed money for other projects that it just simply never could have responsibly repaid. >> rose: and the way, in a way this is kind of a reflection of america, because of its manufacturing base is being eroded? >> the as reflection of america because already so many -- >> rose: the rust belt as they say. >> there are so many aspects of this that resemble america, as i said in an enlarged w

detroit was once a thriving metropolis. you can see the headquarters of general motors back there, that world renowned automaker, the heart of the american auto industry. i asked people what they thought about the bankruptcy. >> that it's got on the a point where people got tired. we're paying services that we don't get. >> had no clue and i didn't know it was that bad here. i mean, i thought it was going to get a little bit better. >> i feel it's a good thing. the city needs to turn itself around. it's got start someplace. and this is what has to be done. >> reporter: people are naturally disappointed, but most know that something has to be done in order to make the city livable again. this may provide detroit with just enough breathing space to start rebuilding. reporting for nhk world, detroit. >>> the people who run china's central bank are taking a step to stabilize their country's financial markets. they're scrapping the interest rates banks can charge on loans. they'll stop people to stop getting loans outside the ba

last week detroit became the largest city in u.s. history to file for bankruptcy the city's appointed emergency manager kevyn orr formally sought federal bankruptcy court protection after deeming it a last resort to restore detroit's financial stability and the move came with full support of michigan governor rick snyder who defended the decision by citing the shocking statistics that have come to define the economically downtrodden city unemployment has nearly tripled since two thousand and is now more than double the national average public services are also severely under resourced the traders wait on average an hour for the police respond to a nine eleven call and forty percent of the city's street lights a bit out of commission since earlier this year but despite this looming reality filing for bankruptcy isn't a move welcomed by all doing so will put the pensions of thirty thousand detroit city workers in jeopardy and it's because of this that a michigan judge has put the filing on a hold asserting that bankruptcy would violate

who killed detroit? >> who killed detroit? >> yeah. >> 50 years of mismanagement by largely democratic administrations who had an unusually close and collusive relationship with the public service unions. and there was a total mismanagement. spending money that they didn't have, borrowing money in order to close the gap between revenues and the spending. there was never any fiscal discipline. the can was always kicked down the street. nobody ever faced the tough issues. the declining tax base and all of the other problems that beset detroit. and now it has become time to pay the piper. >> this is a perfect example of why collective bargaining by public sector government employees is a lousy idea. the taxpayer is not at the table while they feed at the trough. >> well, that's true. and they were an important part of the election base, which perpetuated a totally democratic dominance of detroit politics. i mean, there was just never any fiscal discipline in the system, no accountability, and of course as we know from the decease

last week detroit became the largest city in u.s. history to file for bankruptcy the city's appointed emergency manager kevyn orr formally sought federal bankruptcy court protection after deeming it a last resort to restore detroit's financial stability and the move came with the full support of michigan governor rick snyder who defended the decision by citing the shocking statistics that have come to define the economically downtrodden city unemployment has nearly tripled since two thousand and is now more than double the national average public services are also severely under resourced to traders wait on average an hour for the police respond to a nine eleven call and forty percent of the city's street lights a bit out of commission since earlier this year but despite this looming reality filing for bankruptcy isn't a move welcomed by all doing so will put the pensions of thirty thousand detroit city workers in jeopardy and it's because of this that a michigan judge has put the filing on a hold asserting that bankruptcy would viol

some bad times ahead it's just not detroit well regardless of whether it's sustainable or even moral how realistic is it to think that there are going to be voluntary haircuts before a forced event that a lot of us would consider inevitable i mean how realistic is that scenario and how what do you see as being the trigger for the next crisis if you believe that in fact there will be one. well i think you know you of course you're right i mean it's very unlikely that these people are going to do this even though i would argue it's actually in their long term interests to have a voluntary here and do something in the public interest for a change instead of just their own greedy personal interest at the expense of other people and let's also never forget when we're talking about government you know this is an institution that operate. the guy's got a gun in one hand and a hangman's noose in the other hand and he's telling you what to do. so that's you know that that's a government so should there be should they you know take a voluntary haircut sure i'd like to see them bald by the way

the private sector business is doing well in detroit, coming to detroit. young people are moving to detroit. occupancies over 90% in downtown and midtown detroit because of young people. the last obstacle for allowing detroit to take offer and grow is is the city government issue. by having better services, there's a real opportunity to see an exciting detroit, a great detroit again. >> give us an estimation how long you think it's going to take for the city to climb out of this state. >> well, in terms of the bankruptcy process, my hope is we can get that resolved by fall of next year. it is going to be a longer-term process to get through all these issues. you're going to see things improve in detroit in the next 30, 60 dies days, how can we st taking down structures, how can we do better with police protection? there's a new police chief. many good things are on the path to being put in place to help citizens. >> quickly, sir, before we lose you, what about the new red wings stadium? hockey fans want to know, will it go forward. >> yeah, that's one of t