破產恐懼症:加拿大卡爾加里是否會成爲下一個底特律？

The recent decision by a U.S. judge to allow the City of Detroit to potentially shed billions in debt is raising concern among some for a Canadian city.

最近美國聯邦法的裁定，將使得底特律擺脫數十億美元的債務，這引起了很多加拿大城市的關注

Some fear that Detroit's financial situation, which is the largest public bankruptcy in U.S. history, may be replicated in Calgary as the cities share similarities including reliance on a few key major industries and heavy investment in infrastructure.

有些人爲底特律的財務問題擔心，這是全美歷史上最大的公共破產，同樣的情況可能重複發生在卡爾加里，和底特律的問題相似，嚴重依賴少數關鍵產業和大量投資基礎設施

Detroit was the once-mighty symbol of the United State's manufacturing strength but faced a long, slow decline in population and auto manufacturing.

底特律是美國製造業昌盛的往日代表，但是現在卻面臨的人口和汽車製造業的長期慢性衰退。

High demands for Detroit-made industrial products, mainly automobile production starting in the 1950s, lead to rapid economic growth and a large tax base, reports Joseph Arvai for The Global and Mail.

對底特律製造的工業產品的需求，開始於1950年代的汽車製造，帶動了經濟快速增長和課稅基礎。

The tax base was used to justify huge investments in infrastructure, which dwindled as residents started to move away, and key industry players moved away as competition rose and they found cheaper, more innovative alternatives.

課稅基礎，用來刺激大型資金投往基礎建設，也隨着人口搬離而減少，支柱企業，由於競爭的加劇，會尋找更便宜更有創新精神的替代地。

"Just like in Detroit, much of Calgary’s current growth is built on an industrial base that is at the mercy of fickle consumers, and is increasingly under siege from competitors," says Arvai.

“和底特律的情況非常相似，卡爾加里經濟增長所依靠的工業，受到消費者取向的影響，而且和競爭者的交鋒不斷加劇”

"Even if industry’s and government’s much-hyped pipelines are built, it’s only a matter of time before alternatives to energy from Alberta dominate the global marketplace," he adds.

“就算工業界和政府對石油管道的修建大肆炒作，只不過關係到何時輪到是阿爾伯特省的能源來統治世界市場”

Cities can take on large debts for infrastructure projects, but provinces enforce strict rules on how much debt can be inccured, CBC News reports.

城市會因爲基礎設施建設揹負鉅額債務，不過省內已經設置嚴格的條例限制上線，CBS新聞說。

"If they get into trouble — even with those rules — then the province would step in with a supervisor to help them," said Enid Slack, director of the Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance at the University of Toronto, earlier this year when Detroit first declared bankruptcy.

“如果他們陷入麻煩，即使有這些法規，省裏也會介入監管幫助他們”，Enid Slack在今年早些時候底特律宣佈破產的時候說，他是多倫多大學市財政與管理學院的主任。

Many took to social media to share their thoughts if bankruptcy was in Calgary's future.

很多人通過社交媒體分享自己的想法，卡爾加里未來會不會破產。

"Calgary is not Detroit & Canada is not the USA," said one user on Twitter, adding that the cities had many structural differences and that the article was flawed.

“卡爾加里不是底特律，加拿大也不是美國”，有人在推特上說，同時還補充，兩座城市有結構性的不同，那篇文章看起來沒有破綻。

"Could this really happen to Calgary? Yes, it absolutely could. We're a one-horse town," said another.

“這種事情會發生在卡爾加里麼？是的，完全可能，我們只是個偏僻的小鎮”另外有人說

Sun News television personality Ezra Levant took offense to the article, calling the author a, "Total kook. Embarrassment to the University of Calgary. Self-hating westerner," on Twitter.

太陽新聞電視臺的Ezra Levant對文章感到動怒，在推特上對作者說“純粹的瘋子，卡爾加里大學的恥辱，自我厭惡的西方人”

Detroit's bankruptcy also means that the city will negotiate with its creditors, including retirees who are owed pensions, bondholders, insurers and other vendors.

底特律的破產意味着，這座城市將和它的債主進行談判，債主包括退休員工，債券持有者，承包人和其他售主。

Judge Steven Rhodes turned down objections in his ruling from unions, pension funds and retirees, which, like other creditors, could lose under any plan to solve $18 billion in long-term liabilities.

聯邦法官史蒂夫洛茲駁回了工會，退休基金，退休員工對裁定的反對，和所有債權人一樣，無論實施任何計劃都將損失180億美元