I think, in the case of Detroit, they will both be taking pretty painful hits. Snyder is serious about this. The bankruptcy administrator is likely to be unsympathetic. And very little help is likely to come from DC. Couple all of that with Chapter 9 providing all creditors with FAR fewer rights, and I think the writing is pretty much on the wall.

The only thing the creditors can try at this point is to get a judge to rule that Detroit is not eligible for bankruptcy. Slim chance there... but we've all seen stranger things happen.