Posted on 04/19/2013 9:55:16 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
You know a city is in deep trouble when its mayor invites Wall Street but not the press and not private citizens to a closed meeting to discuss the future, including a sell-off of city assets.
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, whose municipality has the lowest credit rating of the five most-populous U.S. cities, did just that.
My translation: Philadelphia is bankrupt. However, that easily discernible fact will of course be denied until it officially happens.
Please consider Philadelphia Holds Closed Meeting With Wall Street
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, whose municipality has the lowest credit rating of the five most-populous U.S. cities, will address investors at a conference financed by underwriters and closed to the public and the press.
The invitation bills tomorrow’s meeting as a chance to hear “Philadelphia leaders and investors discuss building the city’s future.”
Philadelphia is hoping to attract investors for the city, which is rated three steps above junk by Standard & Poor’s. The city and its authorities have $8.75 billion in outstanding debt as of September, according to bond documents. Philadelphia’s pension system is 47.6 percent funded this year, the documents say.
Tours of city assets are set for the second day of the conference, including the Philadelphia Gas Works, the largest municipally owned natural-gas utility in the U.S. The city plans to hire a broker to steer the sale of the system, which may fetch as much as $496 million, according to Lazard Ltd. (LAZ)
Sam Katz, chairman of the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority, created in a 1991 state law that oversees the city’s finances, said that with the conference being held locally, it “certainly created some concern on the part of people that it should be made public.”
He’s more troubled, however, by the fact the school district isn’t on the agenda, he said. Facing a $304 million deficit, school officials have asked the city for $60 million and the state for $120 million.
“The school district’s in a crisis,” Katz said. “They’re the same tax base.”
Philadelphia officials facing a $1.35 billion spending gap over five years voted in March to shut 9 percent of its public schools.
Philadelphia, 5th Largest City in US is Bankrupt
It does not take a genius to figure out what is going on here. Philadelphia is bankrupt. Without even seeing the details, it is safe to assume untenable union wages and pension benefits are at the heart of it all. A 47.6% funded pension is rather telling in and of itself.
Gutless Mayor Michael Nutter does not even have the decency to let the public or the press hear what is going on. Instead he invited Wall Street to a private tour of Philadelphia's assets, hoping to sell assets and stave off the inevitable.
What fundamental issues is Nutter solving?
Pensions? No
Schools? No
Union Salaries? No
Bloated Payrolls? No
Benefits? No
Instead of inviting Wall Street to a private tour, Nutter ought to be inviting the press and private citizens to a press conference to declare the city's bankruptcy.
We've been down this path before, most recently in Stockton, California. Here are some Stockton Bankruptcy Articles to consider in case you are not familiar with the story.
Most relevant to Philadelphia is a ruling the Stockton Bankruptcy is Valid, City Acted in Good Faith. The judicial ruling means bondholders are at risk, and the city will not be forced to raise taxes to pay off creditors.
Also see CalPERS Pension System in the Crosshairs of Stockton Bankruptcy Dispute.
With those rulings, Philadelphia's cost of borrowing is likely to soar. Regardless, the city is nothing but a walking zombie now. The end is at hand.
Join the club, Philly, of major US cities bankrupted by Demonrat rule.
Another case for an emergency manager to oversee. Step one, evict the mayor, the city council, and everyone working inside the city offices. Don’t allow them inside the city limits.
Quick, who owns the Liberty Bell?
City of Philadelphia? Or the US Government?
“The brothers and sisters are in charge!” -former Mayor John F. Street
Don’t celebrate just yet. The rich libs will be moving to red states under their own steam (look what they’ve already done to northern Virginia, for one), and the government is giving the parasites section 8 vouchers so it can inflict them on producers in the red areas. They don’t intend that anyone should escape the coming totalitarianism (except themselves).
Really, the only way to gain some years of breathing space is to move to an area so remote that public transportation and public welfare bureacracies aren’t likely to locate there for decades, if ever. A place so remote that it would hardly be feasible. You’d have to be willing to live a very simple life.
The 5th Largest City in US is Effectively Bankrupt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No wonder. What with Nutter, Gosnell and a million other libtards - they have been MORALLY bankrupt for years.
The question is why do the Makers have to live with and take care of the Takers.
About 12 years ago I helped audit the Philly school Districts’s self insured safety program. They had no written program, no documentation, NO NOTHING. The broad who was representing could not produce any evidence of any kind of a safety program for teachers, cafeteria or janitors or anybody. Her office had a HUGE flag of some communist country (I think Cuba, but it may have been Red China)and she begged us not to bust the SD, because the students’ needed the schools to be open. We recommended, by law, they go into a private insurance plan to protect the employees. They are still self insured with 68% of employees on Workmens Comp, if not more.
Yes but Pennsylvania has a Republican Governor who should be doing something. It is his state. Yo Governor...where are you? He needs to fire the Mayor (hard to do but do it)and find someone else at least.
RE: The problem lasted much longer than Nutter.
I really like his name... very appropriate for someone who leads the city with so many nut jobs :)
“Here’s a cure. Remove the vote from residents of any individual or municipality that declares bankruptcy. If you can’t keep your own affairs in order you shouldn’t get a vote on how to control the affairs of the nation.”
Why, it’s accurate!
>>. I really like his name....
The nuttier Philadelphia voters like his anme even more.
My Fellow Pennsylvanians:
Unless you want to be bailing them out from now until the Second Coming, do NOT put Democrats back in charge of this State!!!!!!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.