Alabama county faces biggest US municipal bankruptcy (AP/Dothan Eagle)

[eppur_se_muova]

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) _ Alabama's largest county appears headed for the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, a $3.2 billion mess created by the nation's credit crunch and a colossal, corruption-riddled sewer project.

Politicians in Jefferson County — which has 658,000 residents and includes the state's biggest city, Birmingham — are struggling to find a way out of the jam, but they have mostly abandoned talk of raising taxes and fees after running into fierce opposition at raucous public meetings.
On Thursday, with their options running out, the county commissioners all but threw up their hands and decided to let the voters weigh in on Election Day with a nonbinding referendum on whether to file for bankruptcy.

"The entire nation is watching to see how we handle this," said Jeff Sewell, an assistant county attorney. "This is a question of character as well as one of finance."
A bankruptcy filing by Jefferson County would shatter the previous record of $1.7 billion, set by Orange County, Calif., in 1994.
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more: http://www2.dothaneagle.com/m/news/2008/aug/16/ala_county_faces_biggest_us_municipal_bankruptcy-ar-202283/

[Viking12]

1. In 2007 Jefferson County had the highest rate of syphilis cases per 100,000 in the US

A coincidence?

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_County,_Alabama#Demographics

[sudopod]

7. Yes nt

[Cirque du So-What]

2. biggest US municipal bankruptcy...

...so far...

A leading American analyst warns that over 100 US cities could face bankruptcy next year (now this year as this was published in Dec. 2010) against a backdrop of soaring debt crisis that threatens to trigger massive municipal meltdown.

Meredith Whitney, the US research analyst, who is known for her accurate prediction concerning the global sovereign debt crisis, stated that the US economy is hogtied by a vaulting local and state debt, which is considered the main setback for the overall state of the economy in the United States, the Guardian reported.

"Next to housing this is the single most important issue in the US and certainly the biggest threat to the US economy," Whitney argued.

The prominent American expert further portrayed a grim view of the economic recovery for the debt-ridden cities in the United States in 2011, adding that “there's not a doubt on my mind that you will see a spate of municipal bond defaults. You can see fifty to a hundred sizeable defaults - more.”

"This will amount to hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of defaults," she insisted.

more...

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/156881.html

Jefferson happens to be on the leading edge of this wave of bankruptcy, and it's doubtful they'll remain the largest municipality for long. New York, Detroit, San Francisco & Los Angeles are on that list of cities at risk.

[JCMach1]

3. Repig dominated city-- and so well-run too!

:sarcasm:

[Supersedeas]

5. Republican governing comes with big risks

[SpiralHawk]

6. This is the result of so-called 'conservative' Republicon economics

Republicon economics, as always = fail for everyone except the very very very bloated rich.

[sudopod]

8. Brace for incoming criticism from people who've never set foot in Alabama.

Birmingham is an awesome town, it's a shame it can't seem to shake the clique that runs it. If it makes anyone feel any better, they've jailed the Mayor and a quorum of the city council that are responsible.

The sad thing is that the city itself is as blue as Smurfville. However, its politics are dominated by the extremely wealthy suburbs. Those folks wouldn't give a rat's ass if the rest of the city burned to the ground.

[JCMach1]

9. Exactly, my aunt years back bought a beautiful old house downtown and proceeded to

re-do it. It was actually featured as a prop in a Bill Moyers documentary.

They have since moved, but even then the inner-city was a shell with massive white-flight to the suburbs.

However, would always go back there for one thing.

Johnny Ray's BBQ banana cream pies... OMG the best dessert in America.

[sudopod]

10. They've got BBQ, heh.

We're partial to Dreamland, ourselves!

[JCMach1]

11. Exactly, skip the BBQ and go straight to the desserts

[cap]

4. Wonder what their quality of life will be with that smaller government?

I don't see them asking for the Federal government for a bailout? Or maybe they will. Hypocrites.

Or, they could condemn themselves to low growth by raiding pools of cash for infrastructure. Really crap up the county's long term growth. More poverty. A viscious cycle down.