Inspired by this all-too real dispatch on Detroit’s current financial woes, let’s jump forward 20 years and see what the future has in store for the Queen City:

Charlotte mayor needs $260M or warns city will be broke by June

CHARLOTTE (BP) — The city of Charlotte will run out of cash by June unless the City Council gives Mayor Michael Smith permission to borrow $260 million to cover its bills, the city finance department says.

The money would be used to pay off $148 million owed to the city’s pension fund for last year and other bills.

The city is grappling with increasing costs and declining revenue, as a decades-long erosion of the tax base catches up with it. Estimates of the current deficit vary widely. Smith is scheduled to announce another round of cost-cutting next month.

Meanwhile, Detroit’s audited financial report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025, is still not complete, nearly three months after the Dec. 31 deadline. As a result, all city loans must now be approved by the state.

Wow, pretty scary, huh? Just keep telling yourself it can’t happen — and it will.