With the economy expanding, albeit slowly, state tax revenues have started to recover and are estimated to exceed prerecession levels next year. Yet governors and legislatures are keeping a tight rein on spending, whether to refill depleted rainy-day funds or because of political inclination. At the same time, costs for health care, social services, pensions…
Author: sh
“Cities Facing Worst Fiscal Situation Since 1980”
The Pew Charitable Trust report, outlining the bleak context in which I’m trying to devise a dissertation research strategy. 2012 looks to be one of the worst years in the cities I’m studying since the early 2000s. City officials and the vast majority of workers are deeply entrenched in an ongoing recession, despite the fact that…
The Austerity Agenda – NYTimes.com
Another Krugman article about austerity, mostly in Britain, where austerity continues to hold sway even as much of continental Europe is embroiled in debates over it: Unlike the governments of, say, Spain or California, the British government can borrow freely, at historically low interest rates. So why is that government sharply reducing investment and eliminating…
Vallejo, California, austerity model
Vallejo becomes the model for post-bankruptcy urbanism – is this the future some people would like to see in American cities?: VALLEJO, CALIF. — The first couple of years were ugly. After this working-class port city became the largest in America to declare bankruptcy in 2008, crime and prostitution surged as the police force was…
New York City After-School Programs Threatened by Mayor
It’s budget season for many cities, including New York, most of which start fiscal year 2013 on July 1. I like this summary of the NYC budget process, which seems pretty universal: Every year, the mayor proposes cutting certain vital city programs and then, at the last minute, the City Council comes to the rescue…