Look for the president or congress to pass some stealthy back door bailout bill for these and other places, dressed up as some sort "jobs plan," or "green initiative."

 

Yep and they are not even doing the jobs they are suppose to be doing. They are steeling the money for them selfs and giving other money away to illegals and lazy people. We no longer build improvements like we use to. Now its a scam to funnel more money into there friends and family's pockets.Well the pockets are empty.

 

this is exactly where the money printer want the the cities, counties, states, and us to be.

in debt? no problem, let us lend you more of your money, with interest of course.

 

Cities function on their tax revenue income. A lot of people becoming unemployed means a lot less tax money coming into the city treasury. The extreme example of what happens is, of course, Detroit. But, there are many other cities currently on the ropes, too.

This problem won't stop until, and unless, more jobs are created. Since that is a very dim possibility......look for things to get worse in the cities.

 

Yes and Michigan is one of the highest welfare states but the new governor we have is finally running this state like a business. He passed a law that took effect Oct 1st that there is now a "48 month lifetime limit" on the amount of welfare a person can collect. They say now there will be a mass exodus from the state but if they have been collecting welfare for 4yrs they aren't paying income tax or property taxes anyway so they will just go suck off another state.

 

Simple they spend money they don't have jsut like the guy's in DC.

They don't know how to save money for a rainy day, we did.

 

3. Jefferson County, AL
Credit rating: Caa1
2009 revenues: $309,440,000
2009 debt ($000s): $1,337,233,000
Median household income: $44,718

Anybody else think that yahoo messed some numbers up? It's difficult to believe that Jefferson County (pop. 600k) has a debt of $1.3 TRILLION.

Assuming that they just messed up the units, it's still a sad story.

 

You mean $1.3 BILLION :taped:

 

The common dominator? Liberal/ socialist cities.

 

True enough, but as long as the Fed keeps bailing them out, it's a National problem that bites every tax-payer, hard.

That town in California last year, the tiny one where the Mayor and his cronies were paying themsevles 800k a year... what was the name?
Made me wonder how many other towns and cites are doing the same thing. On the average, I would have to say most of them, of not all.

 

The bubblehead media is still ripping Whitney for her muni-bond call last year, I think she's correct it’s just taking longer.

 

For your viewing pleasure....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bond_credit_rating

Until we get some kind of Financial Homeostasis, keep prepping.


Sierra Dave

 

How long before the whole country goes under?

It already did. The only difference between the federal gov't and the cities/states is a printing press.

 

Bell, C.A. It's outrageous.

 

You can blame the EPA for a lot of the cities and counties that are going to go bankrupt over the next few years.

The Clean Water Act pushed cities into building elaborate sewer and water treatment plants that are now 30 years old and completely outdated and way over capacity. We have 30+ years of ordinances that required people to hook up to city water and sewer systems. The bill for the next generation of systems is coming due, and no one can pay what it costs, again, thanks to the EPA.

In prior times, everyone had their own well or cistern, and a septic system. If there were problems, they were small and localized. Now, when the treatment plants are overwhelmed, they dump millions of gallons of sewage into the waterways. Big, one size fits all systems, are the dinosaurs of our day, and we will see them go extinct. It is just going to be an ugly painful process to watch.

 

During a SHTF scenario, if chemical shipments stop arriving and if all municipal workers leave; those facilities will become massive disease spreading facilities.

After which it could take decades to clean-up. Not even addressing trying to fix them.

 

Before everyone starts blaming the poor, clean water, and other things the corporate sock puppets want mindless sheeple to parrot -- consider the basic economic reality we've drifted toward under globalism. Rather than largely self-sufficient hamlets or small towns in which the great majority of businesses are locally owned, every place has become a cash cow. A money siphon. Our job is to pump money OUT of our communities, to the Fortune-500, to global investors, to the Big Box near you, and to their politicians they've placed in office even at the local level. We're sort of like mines or people livestock, but the veins are starting to run dry.

 

the problem is not corps. the cities are spending more than they are taking in.

 

Any coincidence that most of these are in blue territory on the Red-State-Blue-State mep?

 

There are lots of really good points here. Like everything else, this problem is multi-faceted. No ONE thing is to blame, and no ONE thing will fix the problem. Below are several items I see as problems. My conclusion below could help wrap everything up. IF it were to ever be allowed to happen.


Sorry for the small book, but please read through and enjoy picking apart the whole argument.



P&L:
Yes, the book-keepers in government positions (city, county, state, federal, etc) are horrible at running their bank accounts. The expenses are more than the income, hence debt.

WELFARE (cash, food stamps, section8, WIC, etc):
Way too many game the system and generations have lived on it, never really having to get a 'real' job. SOME people have a legit reason to use it - for a short-term crutch. I have, and know other people that have. It's to help in a temporary situation, not to live on forever. The problem (that i have seen first-hand) is that you can easily "make" more money popping out kids and watching oprah than you can at a minimum-wage job. Many people without pride see this and take advantage of it.

UNIONS:
They had their role in American society, and now they are usually more of a hindrance than a help. A few friends of mine works for one, and it's disgusting. They can't bid on jobs unless ALL of their staff are union members; if they have non-members on the payroll and get caught, they are black-listed in the community. A worker gets laid-off for lack of work, and if they are caught working in their field without going through the union, they are dis-owned. The scare tactics make them sit on their butts collecting unemployment until the union finds them another job. It's just the way it is. For all this benefit, they have to pay ~25% of their wages for the pleasure of being the union's slave.


OVER-REGULATED:
The $500 hammer and $2000 toilet are not just an internet myth. Over-regulating every facet of an organization's operations causes massive over-spending. Have you ever seen an efficiently run DMV or Social (in)Security office? This is in both government and private sectors.


FOREIGN WORKERS:
Many large companies do their best to NOT hire local talent. They would rather outsource every area they can to foreign peoples, whether legal (H1B) or not (illegal immigrants). Some of this can be justified, but some companies specialize in gaming the system to get more people from over-seas. Foreign workers usually have a much lower cost of living in their home country, so the USA paychecks are HUGE to them. They live frugally and send all the money they can back home.

TAXES:
Huge corporations can operate from almost anywhere, and they use this power to leverage tax breaks. States will gladly give HUGE discounts to companies to be headquartered in their state, many times virtually removing property taxes for many years to sweeten the pot. The state won't press for better tax income easily as they know the company can just move, taking away the taxes they do get.


EDUCATION:
When states are in budget trouble, one of the first things to get cut is education. Fewer teachers, closed schools, higher class sizes, removal of school benefits (arts, music, sports, etc), and tuition rates at colleges skyrocket. All this leads to less intelligent kids unless the parents are wealthy enough to afford top-notch schools or have the resources to home-school.


TAXES (part 2):
The federal tax code is such a jumble of nastiness almost no one understands it. However, this also means there are increasingly more ways to cheat the system. How much $ did the local oil companies pay in federal taxes? How about the communication giants? I'm not talking about paying every month, also include the year-end rebates. Most of them get a RETURN every year that is higher than the amount of money I'll earn in my life. How about the tax return that people on the handout list get? I know people that did not have income from a job for the entire year, getting only state/federal allowances. They still got about $5k in tax returns.


SHOPPING:
One of the reasons that towns are going bankrupt is because even though they have people working, most of their money goes to remote corporations. Most people would rather to go walmart for ALL their shopping (groceries, clothes, school supplies, electronics, etc). They will do this to save $x a month, and are happy to have the extra cash in their pockets. If they were to spend $x + 10% and shop at a locally-owned business, they would have a smaller selection of items at higher prices, and end up with less $ in their pockets every month. Many people don't realize (or care) that if their money was spent locally, the money would stay in town and benefit everyone. Instead, they are helping pay for multi-million dollar salaries and perks for the big company's executive staff. People are happy to buy a POS thing from walmart five times because the last one breaks, but won't buy the same thing ONCE at twice the price because the initial outlay of cash hurts more.


MADE IN CHINA:
Always looking to save $0.01 on anything, most USA companies get everything they can made overseas because it's x% cheaper. Now we hardly make anything anymore. We just consume. We are making foreigner sweat-shop owners rich because we want our do-dad to cost $1 instead of it costing $1.50 and having it made down the street where our neighbor has a job at the factory. Yes, there is still income from having it taxed 17 ways to Sunday. Think about it... The widget cost you $1.50 when made in the USA. That's $0.50 in actual cost and $1 to cover profit and taxes. Now that it's made in a sweat-shop, it's $0.10 in actual cost and $0.90 to cover taxes and profit. The overhead used to be 2x the actual cost, now it's 9x the cost. The company makes a tiny bit more in profit, but most of that is because of not having to pay the union-mandated wages (and associated payroll taxes).


-------------





So after all that stuff, where do we stand? In a nasty catch-22 position. An ugly cascading effect of inter-connected problems. How do we fix one thing without breaking the others? The same way we broke it – one step at a time.

1. Remove the corporate tax breaks – ALL states at the same time
2. Reduce the complexity of income taxes
3. Break the iron rule of the unions
4. Shop locally for products made locally
5. Visit the big-box stores only for emergencies
6. Check the labels – buy as little as possible that is made outside our borders (very hard to do)
7. Charge the same import/export tax to be the same as the country we are dealing with
8. Greatly reduce the H1B visa numbers, enforce existing immigration policies
9. Make an example out of companies that use illegal workers
10. Yearly limits to welfare recipients – this would work for 90% of those using the system, some people physically can't live without it
11. Pay our teachers MORE! Put more effort into making sure our next generation is well educated is exponentially more important than making sure some politician's pet project gets funded
12. FIX THE BOOKS. Run the budget like a company and stop going into debt because you can't manage your own governmental unit.

 

There are lots of really good points here. Like everything else, this problem is multi-faceted. No ONE thing is to blame, and no ONE thing will fix the problem. Below are several items I see as problems. My conclusion below could help wrap everything up. IF it were to ever be allowed to happen.


Sorry for the small book, but please read through and enjoy picking apart the whole argument.



P&L:
Yes, the book-keepers in government positions (city, county, state, federal, etc) are horrible at running their bank accounts. The expenses are more than the income, hence debt.

WELFARE (cash, food stamps, section8, WIC, etc):
Way too many game the system and generations have lived on it, never really having to get a 'real' job. SOME people have a legit reason to use it - for a short-term crutch. I have, and know other people that have. It's to help in a temporary situation, not to live on forever. The problem (that i have seen first-hand) is that you can easily "make" more money popping out kids and watching oprah than you can at a minimum-wage job. Many people without pride see this and take advantage of it.

UNIONS:
They had their role in American society, and now they are usually more of a hindrance than a help. A few friends of mine works for one, and it's disgusting. They can't bid on jobs unless ALL of their staff are union members; if they have non-members on the payroll and get caught, they are black-listed in the community. A worker gets laid-off for lack of work, and if they are caught working in their field without going through the union, they are dis-owned. The scare tactics make them sit on their butts collecting unemployment until the union finds them another job. It's just the way it is. For all this benefit, they have to pay ~25% of their wages for the pleasure of being the union's slave.


OVER-REGULATED:
The $500 hammer and $2000 toilet are not just an internet myth. Over-regulating every facet of an organization's operations causes massive over-spending. Have you ever seen an efficiently run DMV or Social (in)Security office? This is in both government and private sectors.


FOREIGN WORKERS:
Many large companies do their best to NOT hire local talent. They would rather outsource every area they can to foreign peoples, whether legal (H1B) or not (illegal immigrants). Some of this can be justified, but some companies specialize in gaming the system to get more people from over-seas. Foreign workers usually have a much lower cost of living in their home country, so the USA paychecks are HUGE to them. They live frugally and send all the money they can back home.
PERM Fake Job Ads defraud Americans to secure green cards fo - YouTube

TAXES:
Huge corporations can operate from almost anywhere, and they use this power to leverage tax breaks. States will gladly give HUGE discounts to companies to be headquartered in their state, many times virtually removing property taxes for many years to sweeten the pot. The state won't press for better tax income easily as they know the company can just move, taking away the taxes they do get.


EDUCATION:
When states are in budget trouble, one of the first things to get cut is education. Fewer teachers, closed schools, higher class sizes, removal of school benefits (arts, music, sports, etc), and tuition rates at colleges skyrocket. All this leads to less intelligent kids unless the parents are wealthy enough to afford top-notch schools or have the resources to home-school.


TAXES (part 2):
The federal tax code is such a jumble of nastiness almost no one understands it. However, this also means there are increasingly more ways to cheat the system. How much $ did the local oil companies pay in federal taxes? How about the communication giants? I'm not talking about paying every month, also include the year-end rebates. Most of them get a RETURN every year that is higher than the amount of money I'll earn in my life. How about the tax return that people on the handout list get? I know people that did not have income from a job for the entire year, getting only state/federal allowances. They still got about $5k in tax returns.


SHOPPING:
One of the reasons that towns are going bankrupt is because even though they have people working, most of their money goes to remote corporations. Most people would rather to go walmart for ALL their shopping (groceries, clothes, school supplies, electronics, etc). They will do this to save $x a month, and are happy to have the extra cash in their pockets. If they were to spend $x + 10% and shop at a locally-owned business, they would have a smaller selection of items at higher prices, and end up with less $ in their pockets every month. Many people don't realize (or care) that if their money was spent locally, the money would stay in town and benefit everyone. Instead, they are helping pay for multi-million dollar salaries and perks for the big company's executive staff. People are happy to buy a POS thing from walmart five times because the last one breaks, but won't buy the same thing ONCE at twice the price because the initial outlay of cash hurts more.


MADE IN CHINA:
Always looking to save $0.01 on anything, most USA companies get everything they can made overseas because it's x% cheaper. Now we hardly make anything anymore. We just consume. We are making foreigner sweat-shop owners rich because we want our do-dad to cost $1 instead of it costing $1.50 and having it made down the street where our neighbor has a job at the factory. Yes, there is still income from having it taxed 17 ways to Sunday. Think about it... The widget cost you $1.50 when made in the USA. That's $0.50 in actual cost and $1 to cover profit and taxes. Now that it's made in a sweat-shop, it's $0.10 in actual cost and $0.90 to cover taxes and profit. The overhead used to be 2x the actual cost, now it's 9x the cost. The company makes a tiny bit more in profit, but most of that is because of not having to pay the union-mandated wages (and associated payroll taxes).


-------------





So after all that stuff, where do we stand? In a nasty catch-22 position. An ugly cascading effect of inter-connected problems. How do we fix one thing without breaking the others? The same way we broke it – one step at a time.

1. Remove the corporate tax breaks – ALL states at the same time
2. Reduce the complexity of income taxes
3. Break the iron rule of the unions
4. Shop locally for products made locally
5. Visit the big-box stores only for emergencies
6. Check the labels – buy as little as possible that is made outside our borders (very hard to do)
7. Charge the same import/export tax to be the same as the country we are dealing with
8. Greatly reduce the H1B visa numbers, enforce existing immigration policies
9. Make an example out of companies that use illegal workers
10. Yearly limits to welfare recipients – this would work for 90% of those using the system, some people physically can't live without it
11. Pay our teachers MORE! Put more effort into making sure our next generation is well educated is exponentially more important than making sure some politician's pet project gets funded
12. FIX THE BOOKS. Run the budget like a company and stop going into debt because you can't manage your own governmental unit.

Damn straight! Thanks for that!

 

Don't blame the illegals or poor for America's problems. Blame deregulation. Put the finger where it belongs. If you know anything about how a law is passed you know who to blame. This immigration problem can be easily solved if you are a thinking politician not a money hungry one. Pass a law banning illegals children in our schools, or in our hospitals. Pass a law that requires anyone buying a used or new car to have a valid driver's license. Pass another law that bans illegals from getting a driver's license. If someone buys a used or new car the seller has to contact the DMV via internet or currency exchange and show that the car was transferred to a person with a driver's license. If it is a fake driver's license when he goes for the plates, the vin will pop up tagged. He will be arrested and deported after serving a few months in jail. While in jail they can be used to build a huge wall or fence to block any more illegals from coming in. If someone sells a car to someone who doesn't have a driver's license they will face huge fines and some possible jail time.

Currently, we allow illegals to place their children in our schools. We give them free medical. We offer them credit for cars and even recently for homes. If their children are born here they are instantly Americans. I am sorry but if you came in to the US illegally your child if born here shouldn't be given US citizenship. With these and a few other changes in our law we would end the illegal immigration to the U.S..

 

One thing I have seen around here is people with a work vesa from down south dont pay
any taxes on their income. I was cashing my pay check a while back and in front of me was a person fom Mexico I kind of know from the bar his pay check was over 400.00 for the week . I cashed my check and he was standing out side so I ask him how much he made a hr 10.25 an hr I said ok lot of over time he said no 40hr then how did you clear over 400.00 he said no money taken out .I ask you dont pay fed or state tax he said no money .I here on work vesa no fed,state or SS or med like you pay I take 125.00 out and send rest to family back home . They are rich now I have done this for last 8 yrs I work 6 to 7 mo then go home for 3 mo then come back your Gov make me. So if you figgure let say 500,000 are on work vesas and pay no taxes for 6 or 7 mo thats a lot of money the Fed and sate dosent get. I though no way and asked some people I knew about it that work at the same place and they said yes that how it is they come up her and wook for 1/2 the yr and then go home . Its plobley a lot more that 500,000 but figure how much money that the states they are working in lose.

 

You only pay into an SS policy if you applied for an SS policy.

If you never apply for an SS policy, then you do not pay into an SS policy.

 

I think Chysler(Dodge) has a Illegal finance plan for illegals, because that's all they drive down here.