to anybody who knows terms like "3@55" and "spiking" and various other details of union contracts like unlimited accumulation of vacation and unused sick days, it isn't a surprise. While i don't know about Detroit, yet if they had anything similar as mentioned below without CA's economy to carry it [not that CA economy will be able to carry it in the long run as well :)], well...

http://www.sacbee.com/2013/09/09/5718823/california-public-p...

" The average retirement payout for new retirees in California's biggest public pension system doubled between 1999 and 2012, according to CalPERS data, and initial monthly payments for one group nearly tripled in that period.

State and local cops and firefighters benefited the most.

In the 14 years covered by the data analyzed by The Sacramento Bee, average first-month pensions to state police and firefighters went from $1,770 to $4,978. California Highway Patrol officers' first-month retirement payments doubled from $3,633 to $7,418, and local government safety employees' pensions went from $3,296 to $6,867. "