Policy makers are working behind the scenes to come up with a way to let states declare bankruptcy and get out from under crushing debts, including the pensions they have promised to retired public workers.
Unlike cities, the states are barred from seeking protection in federal bankruptcy court. Any effort to change that status would have to clear high constitutional hurdles because the states are considered sovereign.
While there are several serious hurdles that make this unlikely, it is still unsettling that it is even being considered.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41188877/ns/business-the_new_york_times/
Hee hee! Fat contracts are still getting signed, but they won't have to pay pensions.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on January 21, 2011, 06:29:51 PM
Hee hee! Fat contracts are still getting signed, but they won't have to pay pensions.
And those nasty unions......
It's the keyword usage that worries me. States do not feel "crushing debt". The people who rely on state money feel it.
Sooooo... Fuck those guys, I guess.
Did you know it's mostly red states whose income exceeds their outgoings? That's alright. Neither do Republicans. That must be why they call them "red" states hurr hurr hurr.
Well, I'm pretty sure OR and CA are in the red too these days.
Schwarzenegger PLAYED with the idea of filing BK for CA, but I don't see Brown doing it. ...but I've been wrong about this sort of thing before.