I was perusing random sites, and found this one, referred by Instapundit.https://commodity.com/blog/us-local-debt/.
If you look at the breakdowns, it appears that LOCAL debt is a bigger problem than state debt, for many states. That actually makes some sense, as:
- State governments usually have a balanced budget as part of their constitution, limiting the amount of debt that they can incur.
- For the city and county governments, there are few controls over their budgeting process, other than interested private citizens. Often, they run up a huge tab with little oversight.
- In the largest cities, it’s pretty much All-Democrat, all the time. They control every facet of government and school expenditures, leaving the taxpayers one choice only – Leave.
- The county boards – County Commissioners, Zoning Boards, Water Boards, and all the other ‘small’ boards, have a huge amount of discretion in spending. The members of those boards are often unknown among the public. The positions are not generally a stepping-stone to electoral greatness, but they are secure perches for the rapacious and power-hungry. Tim Hagan, a Kennedy-connected Democrat, was a long-time Cuyahoga County Commissioner. (Also formerly married to Kate Mulgrew, the captain of Star Trek, Voyager). From that position, he and his fellow commissioners controlled a large number of contracts – both in number and dollar amount. Perhaps not coincidentally, the FBI came calling in 2008, and swept up a whole lot of people in bribery and corruption charges.
So, it would seem to be more important than ever to keep a wary eye on the shenigans at the local level. The Left, and the Crooked (often the same groups), have embedded their people in positions from which they are hard to dislodge, and that provide opportunities for both imposition of Leftist agendas, as well as copious opportunities to siphon off public cash.
Although I will not be able to vote in this year’s elections locally (moved too late to manage a timely registration), I will be spending a fair amount of time getting to know who the local players are, their voting patterns, and their financial backers.
What do they say?
Put all your eggs in one basket, and KEEP AN EYE ON THAT BASKET!
