The first step in getting Detroit out of this mess is to dump the unions.
But as the Wall Street Journal‘s Review & Outlook points out, union leaders will fight until the end even if that means bankrupting other states that will be forced to pick-up the tab.
Unions say it’s not fair for the city to break promises to workers, though it long ago abrogated its social contract with local taxpayers to protect their safety and provide basic public services. What would really be unfair is to make taxpayers in cities like San Jose, California, and Providence, Rhode Island, which have scaled back current worker pensions to avert bankruptcy, pay for Detroit’s recklessness.
As history shows, sending more cash to Detroit won’t fix its breakdown in self-government. Another bailout would merely support its toxic political culture of neglect and corruption.
