We can expect to see more and more stories like this, as Obamanomics continues to destroy wealth. Here’s a pro-tip for all you little socialists out there: you can’t redistribute what people don’t have
Across the country, a growing number of towns, cities and other local governments are seeking refuge in similar havens that many states provide as alternatives to federal bankruptcy court. Pennsylvania will have 20 cities and smaller communities in its distressed-cities program if Harrisburg receives approval. Michigan has 37 in its program; New Jersey has seven; Illinois, Rhode Island and California each have at least one. This is on top of troubled housing, power and hospital authorities.
The increasingly common pleas for state assistance — after two relatively quiet decades — reflect the yawning local budget deficits that have appeared in the last two years.
As tax revenue has fallen, the cost of providing labor-intensive government services, like teaching and policing, has proved hard to reduce.
Hey, I wonder why tax revenue has fallen? Sure, we had a recession. But, wasn’t the Stimulus going to save our economy? Perhaps it might have had a chance (not likely) if the Democrats who control Congress and the White House (Ed Rendell was amusing on Fox News this a.m. arguing that Dems did not control the Congress) had a clue, and weren’t intent on doing all they could to damage their economy. Legislation that created known and unknown problems. Talking points that created confusion and anxiety among those who create jobs, as well as among the general population.
Cities get the majority of their revenue through sales tax, property tax, fees, and fines, as well as money coming back from the state through income tax. It is hard for cities to make money when people are not working and spending, no longer own homes, or are simply being cautious on their spending, due to the economic uncertainty.
Unfortunately, government rarely seems to make the hard choices, and cut low level and needless services, as well as re-organize the high level programs. They took lots of money from the Stimulus to pay off the teachers (unions), yet, that only lasted so long. What now?
Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU. Re-Change 2010!
Wait, do you mean to say that foreclosing on granma can have a greater deleterious affect the community as a whole?
Why, why don’t they just increase the property and sales taxes to make up for it. That’s the sensible thing to do right?
We can’t go without the city-paid free BJ-Jesus art, or crosses-in-a-pee jar art, or Jesus’ mother as a whore art, now can we.
Don’t forget those sidewalks and wheelchair ramps that go nowhere.
actually they nver had control as long as the Repubs were willing to set new records on the number of filibusters.
Of course, John, of course. Which would make the Left’s talking point about everything being the fault of Bush and the Republicans rather moot, since Dems could, and did, filibuster. Blam!
I would say that we are not in a recession. I think that we are in a depression and following the same path as in 1930. We are even using the same play book that FDR used and made sure that our economy would not recover. The whole world recovered from the economic crisis at least 10 years before we did as they did not have FDR and his policies. Now Obama is doing the same thing and you can trace the trendlines to see the same response. Unless we can replace this nut, we are in deep s—.