Comments on: San Francisco Suburb To Declare Bankruptcy

Vallejo's City Council Chooses Bankruptcy As Solution To Fiscal Crisis

[gretagreen]

FYI: Vallejo has been struggling for a long long while, and it''s not really a suburb of SF.

[superdem]

This shows why you cannot run government like a business, like the Republicans always want to do. Governments cannot make any money except through taxes, they do not exist to make profits. People want services like police protection and trash pick ups and good roads, but they don''t want to pay any taxes. Governments are not "competitive" in the capitalistic sense - they are what they are and cost what they cost. Now if they mounted solar cells on all governmental buildings they could probably generate enough electricity to run the buildings with enough left over to sell it. But the Republicans don''t want that - Reagan, their god, took the solar panels Jimmy Carter set up, off of the White House roof. His first official act was to reject solar energy and bow to the oil companies. What a moron.

[culturechang]

City council members will probalby still get thier bonuses. This should never happen because any govt entity is supposed to spend only what they get, but intead they operate them like a corporation. Spend like crazy on all sorts of half-baked plans and proposals....and they take risk by investing in real estate and giving tax breaks. Govt should not be in the risk business.

I would not drive through there. They probably have speed traps set up everywhere to get additional revenue.

[Gary Kempf]

They should get into the medical pot business part time. It seems to be very lucrative.


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Posted by imotorist at 02:04 PM : May 07, 2008

Maybe they did, only they smoked it, instead of selling it........It would explain alot.....

[imotorist]

They should get into the medical pot business part time. It seems to be very lucrative.

[raskal_2]

It is true that politicians in California and the people of California do not deal well with reality. And Mr. George saying in the article that Orange county is thriving is extremely mis-leading. The County just defunded almost all of their Mental health services and their Safety net for emergency Mental health services (P.U.F.F.)are shut down. You can always determine the financial health of a community in how it cares for those who cannot care for themselves...

[Gary Kempf]

mjvw2;
You can''t really expect a city in California to endure something that the city of Cincinnati, Ohio has endured for the past year and a half. Reality is not something that California accepts well.

[geneonlbk]

The "upper class" is just now beginning to see the problem with robbing the poor to benefit the wealthy. Of course you will have to spend more and more and more to protect yourselves from the very people you have been robbing for decades. Now "protection" is becoming too dear and you are in peril of being overrun by the lower classes, who, after all, no longer have anything left to loose.

[mjvw2]

a sanctuary city. maybe they can use some illegals to perform critical services. I fear they''ll be looking to the federal gov to bail them out which means it will come out of all our pockets. Screw them.

[mbburch06]

From the article: "There is a stigma associated with bankruptcy that''s not necessarily warranted."

Not warranted? Walking away from your financial obligations via bankruptcy is basically state-sponsored theft. Any stigma associated with it is completely deserved.

This case is just another testament to the incompetence of government.

[Gary Kempf]

I am sure members of city council and mayor were also well compensated. I doubt the police and fire departments pay drove them broke alone.

[squidly8]

Wow, who would have thought that if you provide government workers with a very good salary and lavish benefits (that the town really cant afford) and lots of time off (poor productivity), that it wont come back to bite the budget?

A clue to the clueless: The best and brightest do not work in government service! They work where they can make a pile of money and retire. Those who are willing to trade their ambition for a comfortable job work for the government. Once they are in, they complain it isn''t enough!

[bookwerm314]

This is the canary in the coal mine..

There will be more and more of these bankruptcies, as we find that city, county, state and even FED (which can print money so is "safe") pays and benefits cannot be afforded!

The Public sector gets bennies that FAR exceed that which the private sector can afford, and all on the backs of the taxpayers.. the govts. do hankypanky with budgets, promises for pensions etc. that most regular folks in REAL jobs would KILL to get. Well, not kill, but be pretty desperate for.. and when we are all starving and the retired Secretary from the DMV gets her 80% salary for the rest of her life 20 yrs from now,,... trust me, things will change..

So you Public Service folks.. we are coming.. we are coming to take your bennies, to take your huge pensions.. we won''t care what was "arranged" by your union, won''t matter.. we will drive those city, county, and state govt.s into bankruptcy, and when that happens, the rules change. And all that money you were counting on ripping out of our bleeding wallets will not be coming, YOU will be poor.. And THEN we will have justice.

The NEXT step is to kill all medical and other benefits for elected officials and make THEM buy insurance on the "open" market.. see how THEY like it. Why should a Senator get a pension? They are not an employee of govt. they ARE the govt.

[navyjimfl]

"overly generous pay and benefits to the city''s police and firefighters"

it''s better than working for a living and getting well paid too.....

[hypnotoad72]

not a linberal thing, not a republican thing... it is an America is heading downhill fast thng and the dubmasses on both sides are to blame.

Lets face facts most of us draw a line down the center and take just a step to the left or the right, and yet there is no "3rd party" out there that represents this faction.

There are plenty of cities and suburbs in major trouble, this is just the beginning...

Posted by ddaryl1
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Sadly true. Unless things turn around, disaster will be inevitable and by the looks of things such a disaster would be worldwide. Is it too late to change? No. Are there things that can be done? You bet. Will they want to be done? Some, yes, some, no. Let''s see what happens, but the worst of it all still won''t take place for a number of years.

We have time, let''s use it. I think we can all agree; Democrats and Republicans alike, NOBODY wants to see things disintegrate.

Or, if nothing else, have faith for the long term.

[Gary Kempf]

So reality has touched California soil??????

[sistatee-2009]

The city should borrow itself further into debt in order to solve its debt problem. Oops....sorry....that''s the United States.

[libh8er]

There are plenty of cities and suburbs in major trouble, this is just the beginning...
Posted by ddaryl1 at 11:15 AM : May 07, 2008

All run by democrats

[ddaryl1]

not a linberal thing, not a republican thing... it is an America is heading downhill fast thng and the dubmasses on both sides are to blame.

Lets face facts most of us draw a line down the center and take just a step to the left or the right, and yet there is no "3rd party" out there that represents this faction.

There are plenty of cities and suburbs in major trouble, this is just the beginning...

[missingamerica]

I say again: Thanks, CBS, for providing a place for the nutcases to hang out and vent...I have no doubt it helps to prevent them from committing horrible crimes should they catch a member of one of the numerous groups that they hate in a vulnerable moment...