By: Jeffrey Klein
Examiner.com
Republicans are so lucky this election year, because American voters no longer need to look across the pond to Europe, in order to witness the financial, social and moral devastation that results from the unbridled implementation of the Liberal/Socialist government model.
No matter where you look around our country, wherever the “blue state” Democrat-led government and public union partnerships have been allowed to operate and flourish long term–municipalities are being forced into Chapter 9 bankruptcy, with some states, like California and Illinois not far behind.
In just the past two weeks, Stockton, San Bernadino and Mammoth Lakes, California, have all run out of cash and can no longer borrow money, forcing their Democrat leaders to seek federal bankruptcy court intervention as the only way to get out from under the crushing weight of public union benefit plan legacy costs, according to an Associated Press article today.
San Bernadino, a city of about 210,000 people that lies west of Los Angeles, will become the second largest city in the nation ever to file for bankruptcy, right behind number 1–Stockton, the northern California city of nearly 300,000, with Mammoth Lakes having voted on July 3rd to seek bankruptcy protection as well.
Pretty much the same plot line plays out in every such council chamber, as it joins a number of other cities and counties across the nation that have plunged into financial crisis, unable to cover rising costs involving payroll, pensions, bondholders and vendors.
“We have an immediate cash flow issue,” Interim City Manager Andrea Miller told Mayor Patrick Morris and the seven-member City Council. She also explained that the city is facing a budget shortfall of $45.8 million, and has already stopped paying some vendors; and, may not be able to make payroll over the next three months.
“This is probably the hardest decision this councilwoman will ever have to make in this chair,” Councilwoman Wendy McCammack said.
Perhaps the most amazing situation that arose in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the state’s sixth-most-populous city (population of 76,089 in 2010 census), which is now down to its last $5,000 and has no way to pay salaries, according to Mike Shedlock’s post in his well respected Global Economic Trend Analysis blog yesterday.
Scranton’s Democrat Mayor Chris Doherty took the unprecedented step of unilaterally reducing everyone’s pay — including his own — to the state’s minimum wage: $7.25 an hour, beginning with the 400 bi-weekly paychecks released last Friday.
Doherty wants to raise taxes by 29 to 78 percent to close their $16.8-million budget deficit; but the city council wants to take a different approach and borrow money.
However, The Scranton Times-Tribune reported there’s no way for the city to take out a loan because it is unable to show it is capable of paying it back.
And, in the other corner, the firefighters’ union, along with the police and public works unions, have taken the city to court. But, even though Lackawanna County Judge Michael Barrasse issued an injunction, essentially agreeing with the unions that the city was breaking the law, Doherty says he doesn’t have another choice.
The unions plan to be back in court first thing Monday morning to ask the judge to hold Doherty in contempt, to which the Mayor responded…
I’m trying to do the best I can with the limited amount of funds that I have … I want the employees to get paid. Our people work hard–our police and fire–I just don’t have enough money, and I can’t print it in the basement.
Blue state Democrat politicians union benefit deals have bankrupted their towns, counties and soon several states will likely follow…and their “knee-jerk” reaction?
Raise taxes to avoid a brush-up with their union benefactors.
The State of California is the most excellent example of Democrat’s absolutely ignorant refusal to institute the cost-cutting necessary in their glutinous social welfare programs, after being hit with an “unexpected” $3.5 billion tax revenue shortfall, is compelling newly elected Liberal Governor Jerry Brown (who barely beat out Meg Whitman, founder and CEO of eBay) to take his plea directly to “the people,” as Barack Obama is fond of saying…
We can’t fill a hole of this magnitude with cuts alone without doing severe damage to our schools,” Brown says. “That’s why I’m bypassing the gridlock and asking you, the people of California, to approve a plan that avoids cuts to schools and public safety.
However, he is receiving severe push-back from the constituency, which may have something to do with it already being perennially ranked as the third worst state for taxes by the Tax Foundation, a non-partisan tax research group in Washington, D.C., according to a posting in About.com by Tonya Moreno, CPA.
California income tax rates range from 1.25% to 9.55% and are levied on California residents’ income and non-residents’ income from California sources, with the highest rate beginning at just $46,349 of income.
And, the really lucky ones, like those who sponsor and attend Barack Obama’s $40,000 fund raising dinners, who make over $1 million per year, are saddled with an additional 1% tax surcharge, bringing the total to a stunning 10.55%.
Plus, California has the highest state level sales tax rate in the nation at 8.25%, and it allows cities and counties to charge additional sales taxes, so depending upon the locality–sales tax rates can be as high as 10.50%.
Even though property tax is a huge source of country revenue, particularly in California where it is assessed at 100% of full fair market value with only a $7,000 homestead deduction, it all still does not seem to be enough to feed the Liberal’s socialist dream.
Amazingly, even though this is exactly the same “brand” of bumbling, political and financial malfeasance that has been committed by the Obama administration, he audaciously continues to bark at college students in swing states about [still] being the real answer to our problems.
If that were really the case the student unemployment rate wouldn’t be over 50 percent, and the former law school lecturer, community organizer and short/small-time elected official, would be crowing about his excellent performance during his first term in office–to everyone across the nation.
Unfortunately that is a lie even the mainstream media can’t camouflage.
