Syracuse is one of many cities in New York State struggling to close a deficit. This local news story about Syracuse follows the pattern of pretty much every other local fiscal crisis: SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The next mayor of Syracuse will preside over a city that will go broke unless significant changes are made, according…
Tag: pensions
Detroit, bankruptcy, and the national pension fixation
The post I wish I had time to write: how easily people can imagine taking away a retiree’s pension, how small those pensions usually are, and how controversial the assessment of Detroit’s (and everyone else’s) actual pension problem is (for starters, Morningstar says Detroit followed industry practice for its pension plan right up until the…
In Embattled Detroit, No Talk of Sharing Pain – NYTimes.com
Detroit, currently under the governance of an emergency manager, seems destined for bankruptcy or mass default (it has already begun to default on some of its credit payments. Either scenario will be groundbreaking in municipal finance and in the power relationships between bankers, retirees, cities, and states. The impending battle between people living on fixed…
Bill Seeks to Tie Municipal Borrowing to Public Pension Disclosure – NYTimes.com
There are many policies floating around to reform the muck that is municipal finance these days. A group of U.S. representatives from California are pushing a bill in Congress that would require states and cities to disclose the “true cost” of their pension plans, and whether they can pay those costs. California, of course, is…
Court to Decide on Pensions in Stockton, Calif., Bankruptcy – NYTimes.com
Wall Street is taking America’s biggest pension fund to court this week, for a long-awaited battle over who takes the losses when a city goes bust — workers and retirees, municipal bondholders, or both. California is being closely watched as battles in San Bernardino and Stockton look to reshape how pensions are treated…