Rough times in the Motor City. In the largest municipal bankruptcy filing in U.S. history, Detroit has asked a federal judge for permission to put the city into Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection. The city’s deficit is upwards of $18 billion and residents keep fleeing city limits in record number (a quarter-million residents in the past 10 yrs). If the filing is approved, this will allow the city to liquidate assets to repay creditors and stabilized city workers pensions and retirement.