Mehring Books is pleased to announce that The Truth Behind the Bankruptcy of Detroit is now available for online purchase. This 64-page, full color, perfect bound pamphlet exposes the political and social forces behind the largest municipal bankruptcy in US history.
The pamphlet is comprised of the five reports from the Workers Inquiry into the Bankruptcy of Detroit and the Attack on the DIA & Pensions, held on February 15, 2014. They include:
- “The Social and Historical Context of the Detroit Bankruptcy,” By WSWS reporter Jerry White
- “The Political Conspiracy Behind The Bankruptcy of Detroit: Anatomy of a Crime,” By Workers Inquiry Chairman Lawrence Porter
- “Art and the Working Class,” By WSWS Arts Editor David Walsh
- “The Detroit Bankruptcy: A Travesty of Democracy,” By WSWS reporter Tom Carter
- “The Rape of Detroit: Deindustrialization, financialization and parasitism,” By WSWS US Editor Barry Grey
These reports present a detailed exposure of a social crime: the decision to use the courts and an anti-democratic emergency manager law to impose attacks on the working class previously considered impossible.
The July 18, 2013 bankruptcy filing by Detroit’s emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, was the culmination of a long-planned political conspiracy, crafted by powerful investment and legal firms and supported by both big business parties. The aim was to use the bankruptcy court to override legal obstacles, including the state constitution, to the looting of public employee pensions funds and other public assets, including the priceless collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts.
The Obama administration, which intervened on behalf of Orr, sees Detroit as a test case to gut pensions of millions of retired teachers, firefighters and other public employees throughout the country.
The Workers Inquiry cut through the lies of the Democrats and Republicans, the corporate controlled media and the trade union executives, which all insist the working class must pay for a financial crisis they did not create. In calling the Inquiry, the Socialist Equality Party explained that what workers lack is not the desire to fight, but the truth: an understanding of the nature of the political and social forces they confront.
The information contained in this pamphlet will play an important role in organizing a class conscious, socialist alternative to the capitalist system.
To order click here.
Title: The Truth Behind the Bankruptcy of Detroit Price: $9.95
Pages: 64
ISBN: 978-1-893638-44-0