The Constitutional Issue With Detroit Pensions Shouldn't Be a Joke

The coverage of the legal battles surrounding how Detroit's pensions would be treated in bankruptcy have generally treated the guarantee of public employee pensions in the Michigan state constitution as somewhat of a joke that needs to be cast aside given Detroit's dire circumstances. The basis for the humor is less than obvious.

When the state of Michigan put a guarantee into its constitution it was presumably sending a message to both its public sector workers and its potential creditors. T...