Posted on 03/03/2014 4:18:34 PM PST by Libloather
Detroit's looming bankruptcy is making news again, this time focusing on current restructuring plans aimed to wipe out $18 billion in debt by axing pension checks of city retirees, including police and fire.
Massive long-term retirement and healthcare promises were by no means solely responsible for the city's fall, but these massive pensions coupled with a tax base weakened by high unemployment and housing vacancies caused the budget to bleed out quicker.
The Michigan city may be the most recent victim of bankruptcy, but many of the 61 largest U.S. cities have adopted the same retirement legacy leading to $118 billion in unfunded healthcare debts. Retired city workers stop contributing to the system; the system keeps paying them; and before you know, a fiscal crisis has begun.
If you think the three cities below are too big to fail, think again.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.msn.com ...
Must be Republicans. Everyone knows the media protects them.
“I’ve got a solution for L.A. Take half of all the wealth at the Oscars last night. I’m sure it would make a dent. And I’m positive they would all happily give. /s”
Whenever liberals start preaching to me about income equality, the 1%, and the evil rich I tell them I’ll be happy to listen when wealthy Democrats pushing this redistributionist line (Oprah Winfrey, Warren Buffett, George Soros, the Kennedy family, Barack Obama, Bill and Hillary, Mark Zuckerberg) step up to the plate and set an example for the rest of us by turning more than 50% of their accumulated wealth to the government. Until they put their money where their mouths are, it is all BS.
And the evil ones are?...........................conservatives, some republicans and the teaparty
Now that Obamacare is the law of the land, all the retirees that were promised free health insurance are getting policies that have to cover everything under the sun at huge increases in premiums.
Everybody hates Bill de Blasio. Charlie Brown struck out Bill de Blasio and then said, “I hate Bill de Blasio. What kind of guy makes up his own name and puts a ‘de’ in it? I just hate him.”
50-60% of most money market and bond funds are comprised of issues from those states. There is no safe harbor...
This is hogwash. Chicago is not the next Detroit and won’t be. It has a much too diversified tax base, unlike Detroit. And the State already just did a pension deal at the end of 2013 for its State employees. Next year, after the elections probably, it will do one for the City employees also. What we need in this state is more jobs. Hopefully that will improve next year, in particular if the Pubs can win the Governorship this fall, which is actually possible this year. Hope springs eternal.
I can’t speak to the situations in NYC and LA, only Chicago.
How long does it take for a slum like Detroit to finally actually go bankrupt for real? Its always looming but never happens...
“Cops, firemen (auto collision responders) city council, all the government departments and their bloated salaries...These governemnt employees and their obscene tax paid retirement pensions are gang banging the American private sector...”
Here in NJ the most damage comes from public school teachers; we’ve laid off cops and firemen, but not nearly enough teachers. They work 180 days per year (not even full days), and are paid better than many private-sector workers with “real” degrees (who in turn are expected to pay them).
“Its why I’m glad that Detroit is being treated as a mostly in house matter despite the pain. Now let those states bail out their own cities.”
They can’t; there is no money. Within the past year or so someone posted an article in which a black city council was fighting with white retirees about how their retirement benefits were consuming the current revenues (leaving nothing for current employees or services); here in NJ it is the remaining white taxpayers having that fight with the white retirees. The only solution seems to be white flight from the whole state, and that is exactly what is happening.
At some point the problems have to be fixed. I don’t love the fact that Michigan residents have to carry this burden but it is our burden. I personally take pride in the fact that it isn’t being dumped on taxpayers nationwide. Sure Detroit is getting some federal money but all cities are getting federal money regardless what kind of shape they’re in. The GOP owns this state and we have to fix the problems.
All I ask is for the $250 million required to prepare our side of the Detroit river for the bridge than Canada is paying for. Naturally, that’s what Obama withholds. Detroit is the second busiest freight crossing on the continent and that fact alone should make the city boom. Unfortunately almost all that traffic is bottlenecked across one 90 year old bridge in poor repair and its owned by Detroit’s wealthiest democrat donor and slumlord.
Despite the lips that flap on autopilot here at FR, things are changing in Detroit. The crime rate is falling due to a tough pro gun police chief and an armed citizenry. Tough new election laws and a tough Secretary of state backing them have led to Detroit electing their first white mayor (D) in a half century. Even the black nationalism that sprung forth from Detroit is dying. Private competition with public utilities is legal and growing in Detroit.
NYC should reverse it’s Rush rule that taxes all income earned there even if the recipient is not a resident.
The reverse would be that pensions to non residents are not paid. Those that moved away, to east Tennessee for instance, would get no pension.(we have several fire/police that moved here from NYC)
They spent themselves into a hole (when they weren’t allowing it to be stolen) and now they want to punish the people to whom they promised a pension.
NYC? No way, EVERYTHING is taxed...
Coming back home...
I could not be happier!!
I went to the link to get the list on the 61 cities but could not find it. Do you know where Houston stands?
Dallas/Ft Worth is fourth, Houston MSA is fifth:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_States
-They need to raise taxes to fix their spending problem.
-Maybe Bronco will give them a 50 trillion dollar bailout.
-Better yet, put everybody on unemployment, that seems to be a libtard fix for everything.
Thanks Vet. I was sure hoping both were further down the list.
They’re bound to get bigger and more prominent as many people head here to get away from places like New York, Connecticut, California and Colorado.
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