Small town declares bankruptcy; Democrats yawn
Consider the small town of Central Falls, Rhode Island. With a population of just 18,000, the town has an annual budget of $17 million--almost a thousand dollars for every resident, every year. For a small town.
Bad as that is, it's dwarfed by the town's pension liabilities of $80 million.
The town has filed for bankruptcy and has cut services and raised taxes as much as the politicians dare.
Point of this example is that politicians may be charming and slick, but most of 'em seem to be...let's just say "math-challenged." It's also possible that one or two see where the math trends are leading but can't prevail against the combined votes of the "good ol' boys" system.
And there can be little doubt that there's a huge helping of outright corruption, as in the town of Bell, California.
And Central Falls is hardly alone: It joins Harrisburg, PA ($300 million in debt for a high-tech trash incinerator) and Jefferson County, Alabama ($3 Billion in debt for a sewer system).
And now two questions for ya: First, is there anybody out there who thinks there aren't a ton of other cities about to join this group?
Second, can anyone explain how the Obama administration can rack up a deficit of $4000 for each resident in a single year, and not expect to come to the same fate?
Bad as that is, it's dwarfed by the town's pension liabilities of $80 million.
The town has filed for bankruptcy and has cut services and raised taxes as much as the politicians dare.
Point of this example is that politicians may be charming and slick, but most of 'em seem to be...let's just say "math-challenged." It's also possible that one or two see where the math trends are leading but can't prevail against the combined votes of the "good ol' boys" system.
And there can be little doubt that there's a huge helping of outright corruption, as in the town of Bell, California.
And Central Falls is hardly alone: It joins Harrisburg, PA ($300 million in debt for a high-tech trash incinerator) and Jefferson County, Alabama ($3 Billion in debt for a sewer system).
And now two questions for ya: First, is there anybody out there who thinks there aren't a ton of other cities about to join this group?
Second, can anyone explain how the Obama administration can rack up a deficit of $4000 for each resident in a single year, and not expect to come to the same fate?
posted by SF at
11:24 PM
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