Gene Sperling, the outgoing director of the White House National Economic Council, told this to reporters today, according to David Shepardson of The Detroit News:
“We did not feel we had any available financial tools, and secondly, we did not think that the prospect of legislation was even close to viable," Sperling told reporters at a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. "To have floated (a bailout) would have given false hope and taken people's eye off the important task ahead so what we tried to do was make clear that the federal government – we did not have tools at our disposal that could be helpful to Detroit."
So a federal bailout isn't politically feasible; is state help any more palatable?
Gov. Snyder floated an idea after private individuals and foundations offered to step in, but with a state Legislature unwilling to raise funds to fix the state's aging roads, money to help Detroit is a long shot.
