Give Detroit’s newspapers some credit. They may no longer publish print editions seven days a week, but they still are producing enterprise journalism of a high order. Last February the Detroit News, after an exhaustive search of the city’s tax rolls, that 47 percent of Detroit property owners did not pay their property taxes in 2011. The amount of revenue lost to the city was $246 million. It was a fine illustration of not only the feckless incompetence of the city government but also of the fact that real estate values have been declining. Many of the delinquent property owners evidently calculated that their property was worth far less than the assessed value — so let the city take it if it wants.

Today the Detroit Free Press released another excellent story, showing how the city government’s debt rose to its current levels, requiring the city to declare bankruptcy. The Free Press analyzed the city’s finances going back to the 1950s, when its population was 1.1 million more than it is today, and it presents a series of well-designed graphics showing the city’s finances over the years in 2013 dollars.