Top Links: When the ‘Detroit as America’ metaphor does — and does not — work

“Detroit is the new Greece” and other tales of shaping the facts to fit your narrative.

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For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCBP leaders cut out of Trump ad buy decision

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

Top story: “Detroit is the new Greece” and other tales of shaping the facts to fit your narrative.

• If you hadn’t heard, Detroit is a proof that the liberal agenda just doesn’t work. (Heritage Foundation)
• Also that greedy, greedy unions and their Cadillac-sized pensions are to blame for everything from deficits to hair loss. (Steve Stockman)
• Chuck Todd: “In wake of Detroit news, look for more Democratic mayors and governors, not just GOP ones, to start picking fights w/public sector unions” (Chuck Todd)
• In fact, “Detroit” is a metaphor for everything you hate and/or fear. That horrible relationship you just got out of? It’s like you just left “Detroit”. (The Wall Street Journal)
• Basically, a lot of people are using “Detroit” as a way to make a lot of uninformed opinions. Here are four more. (The New Republic)
• The fact is that capitalism’s “creative destruction” happens, even on a scale as large as Detroit: “Sometimes the losers from economic change are individuals whose skills have become redundant; sometimes they’re companies, serving a market niche that no longer exists; and sometimes they’re whole cities that lose their place in the economic ecosystem. Decline happens.” (Paul Krugman)
• Mind you, pensions are one area where the metaphor is, if not 100% accurate, at least more understandable. After all, a Boston College student last year estimates pensions nationally are underfunded to the tune of $1 trillion (CEPR)
• Or maybe it’s closer to $2 trillion if you trust Moody’s estimate. Either way, it’s not a small amount of money. Mind you, it’s not Greece, either. (Reuters)
• Another potential area where the metaphor may work — again, to a degree — is immigration reform. The CBO already has said that reform would boost economic growth. Likewise, regional visas could bring in much-needed new blood to a city that could use a much-needed new anything. (Modeled Behavior)
• And then there is Detroit as metaphor for fight over how to pay for unsustainable debt. In Detroit, about half of the nearly $20 billion in debt involves retiree’s pensions and healthcare. That begs the questions: Who takes the bigger haircut, creditors (business) or the public sector?
• Similarly, President Obama’s remarks this week may be about the economy … (The Knox Student)
• … but are also about something else: “The remarks instead seem intended to lay down a clear marker on the debt ceiling/government funding fiscal fights to come this fall.” (Morning Money)