DETROIT – In the upcoming issue of TIME Magazine, Detroit is front and center.
The cover shows the upper half of the Renaissance Center with blue skies above asking, "Is Your City Next?"
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The new issue will examine Detroit's decision to declare bankruptcy, making it the largest-ever municipal failure in American history.
TIME's Rana Foroohar tracks the factors in Detroit's precipitous decline, and how its path to recovery may ultimately help save other U.S. cities.
Here is an excerpt from her article:
Foroohar writes: "America's cities desperately need a wake-up call to fix their finances. Though nearly everyone agrees that Detroit is in particularly bad shape, many of its underlying issues—crushing debt and unfunded and unsustainable retiree benefits—are not unique... The fall of this iconic city will bring many changes in the way local governments function and cities grow. While the broader reÂrating of municipal debt that's very likely to happen down the pike would increase borrowing costs and reduce the amount of money all cities can raise through bond issuance, it might also prompt many to shift their growth models, rein in unsustainable labor costs and partner in more innovative ways with the private sector (which still has $2 trillion in cash on its balance sheets) in areas like education and infrastructure at a time when federal help is less forthcoming."Â
The new issue of TIME hits stands on Friday.