Ala. county to file largest municipal bankruptcy

[Javaman]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45230948/ns/business-us_business/

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama's most populous county filed the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history Wednesday, years after being plunged more than $4 billion into debt by a corruption-riddled sewer project.

Just two months after it seemed Jefferson County could stave off embarrassment by striking a deal with creditors, talks broke down over about $140 million, said Commissioner Jimmie Stephens, who made the motion to file for the protection. Since 2008, commissioners have tried to avoid the move to settle the debt, which resulted mostly from a mix of outdated sewer pipes, the lagging economy, court rulings and public corruption.

The filing does not wipe out the whole $4.1 billion, said commission president David Carrington, who wasn't certain how much the county will have to pay back. A plan would have to be worked out in bankruptcy court and approved by a judge and at least one group of creditors, Carrington said. The bankruptcy's financial burden for residents and employees likely won't be known until that plan is in place, he said.

Still, the four men and one woman on the board in their 4-1 vote decided it was time to bring the issue to an end and remove the cloud hanging over the county, home to Birmingham, the state's largest city, commissioners said.

more at link...

[Lint Head]

1. George Wallace is rolling over in his Confederate flag draped coffin.

[Turbineguy]

2. b-a-n-k-r-u-p-t-c-y

It's how republicans spell success.

[trumad]

3. Matt Tiabbi highlights this town

as a town who was taken by corrupt politicians and Wall Street.

[prairierose]

6. Goldman Sachs helped them to this place and made ....

bunches of money. It is the same thing GS did to Greece. This county needs to refuse to pay the GS loans and straighten out the rest of their mess.

[zbdent]

4. I looked it up ... until the 2008 election, this county went 50% or more for Republicans

barely went to Obama in 2008.

[Javaman]

5. Barely?

Obama received 365 electoral votes, and McCain 173. The popular vote was 69,456,897 to 59,934,814, respectively.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_2008

10 million more votes and more than doubled mccains electoral votes.

That's not barely, that's a very clear win.

[zbdent]

9. look at the subject line ...

C O U N T Y ... not country ...

the county from 'bama went to Obama barely into the 50 %.

And, if you look back, you will likely find me firmly NOT in the Barack Bashers, although not in what are labeled the worshippers.

[mmonk]

7. Reaganomics at its best.

[piedmont]

8. Anyone so ignorant as to think every city in AL is a Republican stronghold...

please don't show it here. The sewer scandal has had many perpetrators, but it was mostly orchestrated by one Larry Langford, an absolute sleazeball, longtime Democrat, and current federal inmate.

I'm not addressing this to the OP but to the folks above who somehow think this is a black eye for Repubs when it is most certainly the opposite.