Municipal debt

[bernorange 8377]

I started a thread some time ago for discussing Chicago's pension problem:  https://www.surlyhorns.com/board/index.php?/topic/2197-illinois-set-us-up-the-pension-bomb/

I just found the following broader report on municipal debt:

Quote

...
At the end of the FY 2017, 63 cities did not have enough money to pay all of their bills. This means that to balance the budget, elected officials have not included the true costs of the government in their budget calculations and have pushed costs onto future taxpayers. TIA divides the amount of money needed to pay bills by the number of city taxpayers to come up with the Taxpayer Burden™. If there is a surplus, that number is likewise divided by the number of taxpayers to come up with the Taxpayer Surplus™. We then rank the cities based on these measures. We have also implemented a grading system for the cities to give greater context to each city’s Taxpayer Burden or Taxpayer Surplus. Based on our grading methodology, no cities received an A, 12 received B’s, 24 received C’s, 31 received D’s, and eight cities received an F. ...

Cities in general do not have enough money to pay their bills. Based on our analysis, the total unfunded debt among the 75 most populous cities amounts to nearly $330 billion. Most of this debt comes from unfunded retiree benefit promises, such as pension and retiree healthcare debt. This year, pension debt accounts for $189.1 billion, and other post-employment benefits (OPEB)—mainly retiree healthcare liabilities—totaled $139.2 billion.
...
TIA is a nonprofit, politically unaffiliated organization composed of business, community, and academic leaders interested in improving government financial reporting. TIA makes no policy recommendations beyond improvements to budgeting and accounting practices that will enhance the public’s understanding of government finances.
...
TIA ranks each city by its Taxpayer Burden or Taxpayer Surplus. The Taxpayer Burden is the amount of money each taxpayer would have to contribute if the city were to pay off all of its debt. conversely, the Taxpayer Surplus is the amount of money left over after all bills are paid, divided by the estimated number of taxpayers in each city. We split the cities into two groups. Cities that lack the necessary funds to pay their bills are called Sinkhole Cities, while those that do have enough money are referred to as Sunshine Cities.

Top 5 Sunshine Cities
Irvine
Charlotte
Washington, D.C.  
Lincoln
Fresno

Bottom 5 Sinkhole Cities
San Francisco
Honolulu
Philadelphia
Chicago
New York City

This year there were 63 Sinkhole Cities and 12 Sunshine Cities. The full 75-city ranking can be found on page 23. ...

More:  https://www.truthinaccounting.org/library/doclib/2019-Financial-State-of-the-Cities-.pdf

 

[Armybrat 41051]

Interesting stuff. Will print austin’s Numbers so my bean counter brother can check it out.

[bernorange 8377]

I'd be interested to hear his conclusion(s).

[Jerry Callo 8862]

The methodology used to "balance" governmental budgets as it relates to pensions would be criminal if utilized in private sector accounting.

[clapclapclap 9000]

12 minutes ago, Jerry Callo said:

The methodology used to "balance" governmental budgets as it relates to pensions would be criminal if utilized in private sector accounting.

GAAP > AOC

[Wally Fairway 5610]

Detroit says "Holla"
Chicago says "that ain't nothing, hold my beer"

[TwiceHorn 31707]

Fucking Dallas is right up there.  I suppose it's almost entirely police and fire pension obligations.

 

Fucked up in a way almost unique to Dallas, real estate investments bought high and sold low.  SMDH.

Edited February 1, 2019 by TwiceHorn

[clapclapclap 9000]

1 minute ago, TwiceHorn said:

Fucking Dallas is right up there.  I suppose it's almost entirely police and fire pension obligations.

And signature bankruptcy bridges.

[sidis 9895]

13 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Fucking Dallas is right up there.  I suppose it's almost entirely police and fire pension obligations. 

 

Fucked up in a way almost unique to Dallas, real estate investments bought high and sold low.  SMDH. 

targeted purge of retirees = balanced budgets galore!!

[Nice Guy Eddie 13569]

In the corporate world, the board of directors and investors should stop an out of control exec team from borrowing/spending too much.  In local govt,  the voters take on that role to oversee if city or county leaders are borrowing too much.  Voters only care about the R/D or liberal/conservative tag next to the mayors name.

[luke duke 6420]

nm

[bernorange 8377]

2 hours ago, sidis said:

targeted purge of retirees = balanced budgets galore!!

I just recently watched Polar on Netflix, so this hits close to home.

[TwiceHorn 31707]

3 hours ago, clapclapclap said:

And signature bankruptcy bridges.

Ron Kirk really sold Dallas down the river on that mess, all at the behest of Perot, Jr.  I find Schutze's words regarding Dwaine Caraway apropos.  https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/dwaine-caraway-did-more-for-dallas-rich-white-people-than-anybody-black-11009407

[Fudge Nuggets 19299]

3 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

Fucking Dallas is right up there.  I suppose it's almost entirely police and fire pension obligations.

 

Fucked up in a way almost unique to Dallas, real estate investments bought high and sold low.  SMDH.

Why do you hate our true hero First Responders? 

Heathen.

[crash_davis 23184]

millennials will keep paying for the old fucks pensions for another decade or 3.

pensions are the biggest MLM schemes in the world.  get in early and you are set up.  you get MLM money from people who didn't even play in the game.  

[Fudge Nuggets 19299]

7 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

millennials will keep paying for the old fucks pensions for another decade or 3.

pensions are the biggest MLM schemes in the world.  get in early and you are set up.  you get MLM money from people who didn't even play in the game.  

Well, we in Gen X are paying a pretty big fucking chunk of the old fucks' pensions and the millennials' unemployment.