“Not surprisingly, within moments of news of Detroit’s bankruptcy, pension scare mongers took to their pedestals to place all the blame on pensions. California, Los Angeles, and other governments would surely follow Detroit’s footsteps in short order, they cried. It’s simply not true, like most of the claims made by the anti-pension soldiers who have...
DATELINE CHICAGO: Mayor warns property taxes could be going up 150%. Suppose the mayor of your city announced a property tax hike of 150% or, stated another way, two-and-a-half times your current tax. A homeowner accustomed to paying $2,000, would see their next bill increase to $5,000, while a bill of $4,000 would jump to...
As hoped and expected Detroit Bankruptcy Protections Affirmed, Snyder Shielded. Detroit can enjoy the protections of bankruptcy, including immunity from lawsuits related to the case, a federal judge ruled, extending that shield to Michigan Governor Rick Snyder. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steeven Rhodes in Detroit today blocked lawsuits by public employee groups and pension funds who alleged...
In an inevitable, anticlimactic decision today, Detroit files for bankruptcy. Detroit became the largest US city to ever file for bankruptcy on Thursday, seeking protection from its creditors as it restructures more than $18bn in debt. Richard Snyder, Michigan’s Republican governor, said in a letter included in the filing. “Detroit simply cannot raise enough revenue to...
Editor’s Note: This post by UnionWatch contributor Mike Shedlock covers familiar territory. Our parent organization, the California Public Policy Center, has published detailed analyses of the new GASB and Moody’s rules, including: “Moody’s Final Adopted Adjustments of Government Pension Data,” “How New Rules from Moody’s and GASB Affect the Financial Reporting of Pensions in Seven...
Looking for amazing arrogance coupled with economic stupidity at the state government level? You can find it in Oregon where Governor Kitzhaber Demands Tax Hikes and Emergency Powers and Warns he Might Turn to National Guard, if the legislature does not see things his way. Gov. John Kitzhaber warned Monday that he could be forced to...
On May 17th the Los Angeles Police Protective Leagues “Board of Directors” authored a post on their LAPPL blog entitled “Inventing the headline number,” attacking the research and the motives of California Public Policy Center. Here’s how the post began: “The playbook is familiar now—gin up a study on public pensions and government debt to be...
A study released earlier today by the California Public Policy Center entitled “Calculating California’s Total State and Local Government Debt” has estimated that state and local government debt is somewhere between $848 billion and $1.12 trillion. This is the first attempt we’ve ever seen by anyone to provide an estimate. Small wonder. If Californians understood...
“Jennifer Muir, a spokeswoman for the Orange County Employees’ Association, which represents more than 18,000 public employees in Orange County, said the California Public Policy Center’s study was a politically motivated attack on public employees and unions. Aside from promoting the center’s anti-public employee union agenda, Muir said, the reports are misleading and shift focus away...
A recent report entitled Philadelphia, 5th Largest City in US is Effectively Bankrupt; Mayor Holds Closed Meeting With Wall Street to Discuss Asset Sales generated several emails from disgruntled people hoping to leave the area for the usual complaints: unions, schools, crime. One reader sent a link to a Philly.Com article by Joseph N. DiStefano titled Philly effort to keep well-known...
A few days ago a federal judge sided with the city of Stockton, validating its bankruptcy. See Judge Rules Stockton CA Bankruptcy is Valid, City Acted in Good Faith. Bondholders screamed, but the ruling made sense. What did not make sense (except from the point of view of politicians protecting their own undeserved pensions), was...
Ever since California’s voters approved the Prop. 30 sales-and income-tax increase on the November ballot, liberal commentators have been gloating about the resurgence of the Golden State after many years of predicted doom and gloom. Their evidence: Higher taxes seem to have cleared up the state’s budget deficits. As New York Times columnist Paul Krugman wrote recently,...
Today a judge ruled that the city of Stockton California is indeed bankrupt and that the city acted in good faith. Creditors asked the judge to void the bankruptcy, saying the city could raise taxes instead. I have been watching this story for a while. Here is some background on the Stockton bankruptcy as reported by Arizona Central....
Few non-local people pay much attention to the goings-on in Stockton, a hard-pressed Gold-Rush-era industrial city of 300,000 that sits in the agriculturally rich San Joaquin Valley at the eastern edge of the California Delta. But bondholders, taxpayers and government officials throughout the country will be listening to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein’s expected ruling...