Amid what he describes as aggressive efforts by Detroit creditors to "pick the bones clean" and "leave nothing unpillaged," Free Press chief editorial page writer Stephen Henderson says it's "time for a little perspective in the bankruptcy proceeding."
The emergency manager is "here to make sure that there’s a functioning Detroit left behind. ready to rebuild and move forward," Stephen Henderson writes.
That pause involves recognition of Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr as "an asset who has become greatly under-appreciated."
Orr is the city’s best possible advocate, the buffer who is standing between the buzzards and the city’s future. He’s here to make sure that there’s a functioning Detroit left behind, ready to rebuild and move forward. He is the antithesis of the creditors, who are just trying to get paid. . . .Where Orr is trying to balance the hit that pensioners take with the needs of city residents, the unions are aggressively trying to raid every dollar they can, no matter the cost to Detroit.
Orr is pushing the DIA to come up with some way to monetize its collection in order to offer something to creditors. But the creditors themselves, including the unions, are trying to sell off the whole darned thing. . . .
The creditors want to pick the city’s bones clean. And Orr is the only one we can rally around to stop that from happening.
Here's an even more vivid way to look at it, courtesy of Martin Scorcese. This short NSFW clip distills the four-word message from creditors to Detroit.
