Detroit Bankruptcy

I'm not perfectly clear on the Detroit bankruptcy ruling the other day.  But it seems to me that much of it is wrong.

OK, Detroit will get a new start, a chance to get it right, whatever "it" is.  If that paves the way for a real revival, a renaissance of the city, then great.  I think......

I'm just concerned about the lessons of the ruling.  That is, I wonder if any lessons were actually learned.  If I'm correct, banks and other lenders (such as bondholders) got the short end of the stick.  Of course, those who made shady deals with the city's politicians deserve the short end--and worse.  But those who lent the city money in good faith, fully expecting to be paid back at some future date, got a raw deal.  Is there any reason or incentive for these same institutions to lend money to the city again?  Likely, the government will step in and force lending if it is not forthcoming.  But if you lent money to a friend or a family member, who then didn't pay you back, would you lend more money if asked?  I don't know; maybe you would.

And what penalties were there for the city and its politicians?  Yes, some went to jail and some are still waiting for trials.  But there seems to be an institutional culture that wasn't addressed or, at least, wasn't punished/penalized.  What's to prevent the same wrong things from happening again?

In many ways, I'm left with the same feeling that I get when I hear the radio commercials aimed at those who owe a lot of money or even back taxes.  "Get the help you need to pay 15 cents on every dollar you owe" or something like that.  Why don't all of us do that, borrow money, and then call on some company that specializes in helping us not to pay it all back?  I know there are bankruptcy laws, but why should those who declare bankruptcy get a clean slate, to start on an even ground with those who have always paid what they owed?  I read that the fed gov't is reverting to some of its former lending rules on home mortgages, the ones that got us in trouble a decade ago.  So, it does happen, that we don't learn our lessons.

Of course, why do we need to learn anything?  As long as there are successful people to bail out others......