Many cities have struggled with the decline of key industries, from
Philadelphia's shipyards to New York's textile industry, but
Detroit--which is now in bankruptcy--is both a victim of the decline of
the Michigan automobile industry and a cause of it. A city with a
history of civil disorder--it is the only American city occupied on
three separate occasions by federal troops--its poisonous blend of
race-based politics and union domination has left it impoverished and
diminished. Once the fourth-largest city in the country, it is today
smaller than Fort Worth. Once the nation's most prosperous city, it is
today the poorest. Even in its reduced state, it is the largest U.S.
city ever to file for bankruptcy--and yet its city payroll maintains
twice as many government employees per resident as does San Jose. More
terrifying is the fact that the imbalance between public-sector
consumption and private-sector production that helped make Detroit what
it is today is by no means limited to the Motor City--in fact, there are
four large U.S. cities that are in arguably worse shape. Detroit is not
just a case study, but a portent.