“… There's no question that Detroit has improved. The city has reported balanced budgets in each of the past three years, a big turnaround from the years leading up to its $18 billion bankruptcy. But a big part of that success is because it was able to unload $7 billion of its liabilities during the bankruptcy process. That deal also gave the city temporary pension payment relief, meaning its current budgets don’t include the full cost of the city’s retirement obligations. …”