Harrisburg bankruptcy claim ruled illegal (BBC)

[eppur_se_muova]

The city of Harrisburg, state capital of Pennsylvania, will not be allowed to file for bankruptcy protection, a federal judge has ruled.

The move was ruled illegal after a hearing lasting more than two hours.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett, who objected to the Chapter 9 bankruptcy petition, wants the city to pay down around $300m (£193m) of debt.

Harrisburg filed for bankruptcy in October, to avert a state takeover of the city's financial operations.

Bankruptcy protection, which would enable the city to seek leniency from its creditors, was also opposed by Harrisburg Mayor Linda Thompson, who said the city council lacked a credible debt repayment plan.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15864428

[SixthSense]

1. That's a lot of debt

works out to over $6100 per capita and probably somewhere close to $15,000 for every employed person. There's no way in hell the city is ever going to be able to pay that, nobody is going to stay in the city to pay that bill when it costs them a fraction of that price to move the hell out