Posted on 11/19/2009 5:51:58 PM PST by SeattleBruce
WASHINGTON -- Mayors from four U.S. cities said they are facing a once-in-a-generation fiscal crisis and that federal stimulus funds have, so far, been largely unhelpful in helping them balance budgets hit by steep drops in nearly every source of municipal revenue.
The comments, from mayors of Philadelphia, San Jose, Calif; Mesa, Ariz., and Bowling Green, Ky., at a panel discussion sponsored by the Brookings Institution and the National League of Cities, underscore how the recession for local government is far from over.
Mesa's mayor, Scott Smith, said the steep drops in sales-tax revenue, the city's primary source of money, are "changing our reality."
"We treat this financial crisis as something we're not going to get out of," said Mr. Smith, whose city has about 500,000 citizens and is in the Phoenix metropolitan area.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
"federal stimulus funds have, so far, been largely unhelpful in helping them balance budgets hit by steep drops in nearly every source of municipal revenue."
That's because the stupid porkulus is not creating many jobs, and whatever jobs created are HUGELY inefficient and pale to the jobs created when sensible tax cuts are made.
The RATS are clueless.
Everybody is screaming give me money!!!
At some point it will run out...
Well, with the unemployment rate realistically at about 20%, I suspect people don’t have the money to personally STUMULATE THE ECONOMY for the GOVERNMENT to REDISTRIBUTE it.
They’ll just have to RAISE TAXES again to make up the shortfall.
‘the stimulus is going to special things’.....
Yeah, Unions, SEIU, and ACORN, BAnks, and wall street.
Oh wait, that’s not special.
They ant seen nothing yet. Wait until Cap and Trade and the new Health care starts taking tax funds and putting them in federal coffers.\
Question.?
In the new Health care bill they are supposed to start collecting the revenue to pay for the bill immediately, although the new bill doesnt come into effect until 2014.
Is anyone stupid enough to believe they will leave that much money sitting in a lock box for 4 years?
Get in line; for years families have been sounding the alarm over a drop in revenues...
These mayors are DOUCHE BAGS.
Looks like he'll have to get up off his fat a$$ and get a different job...
Let’s see: a city spends wildly and gets rewarded with money from Washington... So what’s the incentive to be responsible?
So let's pass it on to the grandchildren /sarc.
It is what they did, you wouldn’t expect anything less. The behemoth doesn’t want to die.
Life Without Prichard Pension: Couple's Savings Could Be Gone By Christmas
First, across the board cut in wages of 25% for all city employees, under contract or not, under the city's emergency resolution. Next, act ‘in line’ with Washington and shift the health plans the city offers to match the minimum federal proposed program. Finally, freeze all contributions to retirement funds, and refuse to ‘make up any differences’ from bad investments.
There, not only did you avoid your city going bankrupt, but you did it without laying off a single person. You are a hero to your entire city, and if a few unions are grumpy, tell the whiners they can pack their bags and go find a job that offers what compensation they are seeking.
I know you won't take this advice, and in fact will continue to whine about a lack of funds while raising wages, raising retirement benefits, and paying increased health care costs, and then you'll raise utility bill taxes and business fees and whine more as even more of your down town areas become boarded up deserted outposts.
All it takes is one mayor standing up and refusing to accept the status quo, who will be brave enough to tell the inevitable courts that will determine otherwise that they do not run the budgets of cities, nor were they elected to the position, and they can go stick it in the darkest parts of their robes.
Do you dare? Or will you continue to hold your head and whine that there's no hope..?
Philadelphia, San Jose, Calif; Mesa, Ariz., and Bowling Green, Ky.Better raise taxes and, to stimulate the economy, increase spending!
Starve the beast...
I am wondering if they will try to force doctors from leaving the profession once Obamacare hits.
How come I never see:
Government officials sound alarm over drop in spending cuts?
Why aren’t conservatives taking advantage of this by standing together and telling the socialists that we will stop buying anything until the socialists are driven out of power?
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