States Need Detroit 3's Medicine: Public institutions are acting just like GM, Ford and Chrysler before big collapse

摘要

DETROIT'S BIG THREE GOT THERE FIRST. They were brought to their knees by management that was either unwilling or unable to make painful decisions. Now almost every state, municipality and school system in the U.S. is about to go through the same kind of crisis. General Motors, Ford and Chrysler got in trouble because they were incapable of keeping a lid on their pension costs. They lacked the discipline to keep their debt loads at manageable levels. And they agreed to labor costs that simply were not competitive. When the Great Recession hit two years ago, the house of cards collapsed.