Flint, Mich., the birthplace of General Motors that once had 200,000 residents, has, much like Detroit, also endured a spectacular drop in population and factory jobs and a corresponding rise in property abandonment, the Associated Press reported yesterday. If a judge rules against Flint's effort to cut its retiree health care benefits, the city is expected to join about a dozen cities or counties that have sought help from the courts since the start of the recession. "If we don't get any relief in the courts...we are headed over the same cliff as Detroit," said Darnell Earley, the emergency manager appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder to manage Flint's finances. "We can't even sustain the budget we have if we have to put more money into health care" for city workers. Flint's budget deficit is about $12.9 million, and the city will have to come up with $5 million this fiscal year unless most retirees begin paying more for health benefits and absorb higher deductibles and co-pays, Earley said.
