3: It's the biggest municipal bankruptcy case in US history

6: Detroit filing for chapter 9 protection

9: Michigan Gov Rick Snyder, who authorised the filing, was pretty blunt

12: Detroit's broke

14: How bad is it?

17: Well, there's broke and then there's having liabilities for over $18 billion

20: Detroit's in really bad shape

22: The city's unemployment rate, at 16%, is more than double the national average

26: As far as city services, only a third of its ambulance fleet is working

30: About 40% of the city's street lights don't function

34: The average wait time for police to respond to calls is 58 minutes

37: The national average is 11 minutes.

39: How did things get so bad in Detroit?

41: People packing up and moving out

43: In the 1950s, the boom years of the city's auto industry, Detroit had 1.8 million residents

48: But, developers started building suburbs that lured away residents and businesses

52: Add in the Auto industry meltdown, and today the city's population is around 700,000

56: Who stands to lose the most from this bankruptcy?

59: Detroit city manager says he plans to spread the pain around

62: But, how that's accomplished isn't up to him entirely

66: Now what you're talking about is a federal bankruptcy judge deciding who's going to get paid and how much they're going to get paid

74: Detroit is liable for $9 billion in pensions and other benefits.

78: It's not clear yet whether, under chapter 9 bankruptcy, those promises to retired workers can be broken, but current workers could see their benefits slashed

86: Bondholders are also preparing to take a major haircut.

88: The city's issued 530 million in general obligation bonds

92: Those are going to pay pennies on the dollar

94: European banks are bracing for losses on Detroit.

97: They hold roughly $1 billion of Detroit's unsecured debt.

100: Will Detroit maintain basic city functions?

103: The city's manager says 'yes'

105: Nothing changes from the standpoint of the normal citizens perspective

110: But he does plan to make some cuts that haven't been revealed yet

113: How does Detroit's bankruptcy affect other other cities?

116: It could make it harder for other municipalities to secure debt, raising borrowing costs in Michigan and perhaps nationwide

122: The bankruptcy procedure is also expected to cost the city hundreds of millions of dollars in legal and financial fees.

126: Just what Detroit needs

128: That's the short answer

: