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In what is unfolding as a classic example of the Shock Doctrine, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s decision to file bankruptcy for the city of Detroit seems aimed more at worker pensions and public ownership than fiscal health. If it goes through, Detroit would become the largest city in the nation to file for bankruptcy.

As unions move to block the process, older workers are nervously imagining the worst – that the pensions they worked toward all their lives could disappear. But is Governor Snyder’s push even constitutional? As the legal battles unfold, we turn to The Nation’s John Nichols who says “Detroit runs the risk of losing democracy.”

GUEST: John Nichols, Associate Editor of the Capitol Times in Madison, Wisconsin, and a correspondent for the Nation Magazine, contributing writer for The Progressive, Co-Founder of Free Press, author of many books including Dollarocracy: How the Money and Media Election Complex is Destroying America

Click here to read John Nichols’ article about Detroit.