80 % of Mr. Mondale's list is the reason they're in the jam they're in.
Posted on 06/27/2012 11:28:01 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
With the city of Stockton moving to become the nation's largest city to seek protection under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, Tuesday night's City Council meeting was quiet, with an evident sadness on faces in the packed chambers.
The working-class port city -- from where many of California's agricultural exports set sail -- lived largely on credit during economic boom times. The city borrowed millions of dollars for ambitious, eye-catching projects in the mid-2000s. Up went a sports arena, hotel and promenade. The city booked a Neil Diamond concert as a kickoff to better times. Houses in sprawling tracts sold quickly and with high mortgages.
When the bust came, few places fell as hard as Stockton. It has the second-highest rate of foreclosures in the nation. Property tax money dried up.
In a desperate effort at solvency, the city made $90 million in drastic cuts over the last three years, including reducing the Police Department by 25%, the Fire Department by 30%, and cutting pay and benefits to all employees.
As of July 1, the city will still face a $26-million shortfall.
The city has stopped making bond payments, and City Manager Bob Deis said he expected to file bankruptcy papers immediately.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimesblogs.latimes.com ...
A few mods and it could become a detention center.
Stupid is as stupid does. The peons should flush the turds who did this, but they won't.
80 % of Mr. Mondale's list is the reason they're in the jam they're in.
Why don’t they just borrow the money like the state of Illinois does?
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