Deadline Detroit has moved its Detroit Doomsday Clock one minute closer to midnight, which represents the point at which Detroit will undergo financial collapse. It is now 10 minutes to midnight.
Reasons for the move include a Nov. 29 decision by Moody’s Investors Service to downgrade Detroit’s bond rating deeper into junk status. Moody's cited uncertainty after the repeal of Michigan’s emergency manager law and an elevated risk of Detroit's bankruptcy or default in the next 12-24 months.
Moody’s also noted Detroit has been unable to complete reforms designed to stabilize its finances. In fact, it appears the city council and city attorney's office are now engaged in outright sabotage of any cooperation between city and state officials over the city's financial problems.
And Mayor Dave Bing seems increasingly befuddled by the challenges. ""We are concerned the mayor sounds so defeated," a Detroit News editorial says Saturday.
The Deadline Detroit clock is modeled after the Doomsday Clock of the directors of the Chicago-based Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Since 1947 the scientists have maintained a metaphorical clock that tracks the world’s path toward nuclear Armageddon. In recent years, climate change and biosecurity concerns have also been factored in.
Just 10 days ago, the Deadline Detroit clock initially was set at 13 minutes to midnight on Nov. 21.
