Posted on 12/26/2010 8:20:59 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Meredith Whitney continues to get thumped by everyone under the sun for predicting on 60 Minutes that 50-100 American cities will go bust next year, triggering the next leg down in the financial crisis.
Whitney's competitors, for example, are outraged (in part, no doubt, because she was on 60 Minutes, not them).
Journalists and research firms are scrambling to refute her.
Towns and cities are furious.
Muni bond holders want blood.
And so on.
Which means that Meredith Whitney has done it again.
Great Wall Street analysts make big, bold calls that make people think. And, right now, Meredith Whitney is the best in the business at that.
Regardless of whether Whitney's latest default-doomsday prediction comes true, the whole country is now aware that hundreds of towns, cities, and states face massive budget shortfalls that have to be addressed. Dozens of analysts are now frantically gathering data to figure out whether Meredith Whitney is right or wrong. And we've all gotten a lot better informed about our slow-motion municipal trainwreck.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
You know that you are over the target when you catch the most flack .
Two very true statements.
Excluding federal debt, about 50% of the public debt in the United States, belongs to California. Do you think the Federal Reserve will allow California’s debt implode the entire US economy?
What isit they say?
When you start taking a lot of flack, you are right over the target............
And you probably meant "dispute" their taxes, as opposed to "grieve" their taxes.
Assuming that this is what you were driving at, there are legal fees associated with certiorari filings and there can be penalties associated with frivolous filings. For upwards of 90% of individuals, there is little benefit in that process. And municipalities have already felt quite a bit of the pain, due to numerous foreclosures that have resulted in heavy arrearage and nonpayment of property taxes.
You'll find it sometimes helps to think things through rather than jumping, in blind panic, on the 60 Minutes bandwagon - as much as we know that CBS truly has America's best interests at heart.
“We need some sort of federal mandate over ride by the states to forestall a massive national bail out IMO.”
An Amendment to the Constitution prohibiting Federal spending mandates to state and local governments would be a good place to start.
Ironically, when a city, or even a State going into a despairing situation like a default, ironically one of the most potent forces in reorganizing and keeping things patched together are its citizens, and in a tangible way.
That is, cities provide essential services, but this is not what got them in trouble. What did that was that they overreached by doing things local government is not, and never was, supposed to do.
About the only things they can do for their overreach, in bad economic times, is default and even bankruptcy. But from the point of view of their citizens, what matters most is disruption in essential services, such as water, sewers, police and fire protection.
And these they can do something about. To start with, any municipal unions have got to go. If there are to be police and firemen, they’ll have to become independents, because cities can no longer afford unions. Likewise, pensions for existing union members are also out the window, usually because of bankruptcy.
If necessary, both police and fire services can be privatized, and there will be plenty of people willing and able to do those jobs.
This leaves water and sewers. Usually States will move in to insure that fresh water continues to flow, and sewage treatment has similar issue and answers.
Thanks for that, my error, I should know better than that.
Common error.
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