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The bill for decades of Detroit's financial decline has now come due.

A federal judge's ruling approving the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history Tuesday sets the stage for an epic legal battle over who will be asked to help pick up the tab, including bond investors, retired city workers, city vendors, state taxpayers, or Wall Street bankers.

The White House has offered “no response” to a months-old call from congressional Democrats to bypass Congress and use executive action to raise workers’ wages, the co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus told Salon Tuesday afternoon.

Trust in government has almost been never been lower among Americans, and the botched rollout of Obamacare has made things even worse. But maybe that's not such a big deal.  

Contact: Lisa Gilbert, Public Citizen, 202-454-5188

Last I checked, populism was the strongest force in American politics today, so it was odd to read an op-ed by Third Way leaders Jon Cowan and Jim Kessler arguing that populism is a sure loser for Democrats. Odder still was the fact that Cowan and Kessler never even manage a nod to populism's obvious potency.

Today, bankruptcy judge Steven Rhodes ruled that the criteria for the bankruptcy proceeding for the City of Detroit have been met and the legal proceedings will go forward immediately. While at the same time disappointing and expected, there are some important elements in the ruling that could shape the ultimate outcome.

Next November, Californians will decide whether to raise the state's minimum wage to $12 an hour -- which would be the highest level of any state and not so far from the $15 an hour goal often mentioned by labor activists.

Tens of thousands of Detroiters are waiting anxiously for 10 a.m. Tuesday. That’s when they’ll hear from Judge Stephen Rhodes whether the city is eligible for bankruptcy protection, a decision that could affect pensions, city services and healthcare for residents.

In 2012, Walmart banked $22.1 billion in profit and paid $5.3 billion in federal taxes. But if it had increased wages for its workers from $7.25 (the current minimum wage) to $12.50, it would have simply deducted the expense from its taxable income and would likely have passed along the increase to its customers, estimated at 46 cents per shopping trip or $12.49 a year for the average shopper who spends more than a $1,000, so there would have been no impact at all on pocketable profits.