"Central Falls, R.I., struggles to step back from financial abyss" July 11, 2011|By Erika Niedowski, Associated Press
CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. - At the community center, the subsidized lunch for seniors is no longer being served.
And now the feds are holding your social security money hostage unless you increase the debt.
The pool has been drained. Health screenings have been cancelled. The locks to the building were changed last week, and not even the acting director is allowed inside.
The public library has gone dark too, a sign on the door at the top of the stone steps telling patrons to return books elsewhere - indefinitely.
Central Falls, one of New England’s most distressed cities, is on the cusp of filing for bankruptcy protection - a relatively rare step for municipalities even in tough financial times....
(Blog editor's head drops as he is sick of typing all our money has gone for wars, Wall Street, Israel, agenda-pushing corporations and concerns, and lavish political lifestyles with chump change dished out for the needs cited above. Alas, such is the burden of empire in the 21st century)
Last year, the state took over Central Falls - a city of 19,000 residents with an unadjusted unemployment rate of 15 percent - stripping the mayor of his keys to City Hall and the rest of his authority. That move came after every teacher was fired at the underperforming high school, with most of them rehired later.
But they had a hell of a championship run!
As state officials try to dig Central Fall out of its financial hole, negotiations are ongoing with labor unions and retirees and cuts are being sought from every corner of the budget.
It's not a Democrat-Republican thing, it's everywhere.
Without major concessions, bankruptcy is a very real possibility. Bankruptcy can take a toll on a city’s reputation and put stress on neighboring communities, which might have to step in to provide services....
Maybe they could get like a bailout?
I mean Wall Street ain't suffering, and the Pentagon just got a double-digit hike!
The passage is so telling in that it shows you debt interest payments to banksters are first, and by pitting neighbor against neighbor they drive the division agenda.
The 1.3-square-mile city north of Providence, where 60 percent of the population is Hispanic, faces $80 million in unfunded pension and benefits obligations and an estimated $25 million in deficits over the next five years. Officials said it was hard hit by a loss in state aid and the fact that expected collections from the Wyatt Detention Facility never materialized.
Oh, the prison-industrial complex failed its promise?
Mayor Charles Moreau and the city council sought help first, declaring that the city was fiscally insolvent. They welcomed help from a court-appointed receiver and say he was beginning to take appropriate steps. But since the state stepped in, they complain of being kept in the dark and charge that no fiscal progress has been made....
Yeah, I often wonder what qualifications even more bankrupt states have to be taking over towns, sig heil.
Life in Central Falls, meanwhile, goes on. Trash gets picked up. Police officers respond to calls. But the city lost two of its anchors in the community center and library....
Yeah, life seems to go on everywhere -- just a bit more diminished by the day here in Amerika.
The library is closed for business, too. The sign on the door referenced the poor condition of the children’s book section and said it was in the city’s “best interest’’ to close the library down.
Cities such as Central Falls face the possibility that the community will become a place where people don’t want to live and businesses can’t survive, said Chris Hoene of the National League of Cities.
That has ALREADY HAPPENED in hollowed-out AmeriKa!! Where the hell have you been?
“It can become a self-fulfilling cycle, battling a situation where you’ve got people and businesses that could potentially leave,’’ he said. “And that further undermines the revenue picture.’’
I congratulate him for having such a firm grasp on the obvious.
**********************
Orange County, Calif., a wealthy community south of Los Angeles, became the largest municipality in US history to declare bankruptcy in 1994 in large part because of risky investments.
And somehow the Wall Street criminals that peddled all the fraud got a bigger bonus check.
Vallejo, near San Francisco, went the same route in 2008. The city is poised to emerge from bankruptcy protection after renegotiating costly union contracts and restructuring its debt....
It really is time to get rid of private central banking.
--more--"
And about that pension:
"R.I. pension records missing, audit finds" by David Klepper, Associated Press / July 14, 2011
PROVIDENCE - State pension officials cannot locate documents verifying the physical condition of hundreds of former public workers who have received disability pension benefits since 2001.
The widespread recordkeeping mistakes were disclosed yesterday in an audit of the state’s disability pension program, which supports former public employees who became disabled before retirement age. Currently, 559 former public workers are receiving the benefit.
Now they are going to go after the disabled?
Wherever they can find a bloody cent, 'eh?
Recipients are required to submit annual documentation of medical exams to verify their ongoing disability. The state also requires recipients to report any outside income so their benefits can be adjusted downward. But much of the paperwork is missing entirely, according to the audit.
Well, you will just have to keep paying the claims then. If the STATE LOST the DOCUMENTS then it is THEIR FAULT!
“We found incomplete files, incomplete documents,’’ said General Treasurer Gina Raimondo, who took office this year promising to review the pension system. “Sloppiness will not be tolerated. Anything that is inefficient or sloppy degrades the system.’’
Raimondo, a Democrat, and other top state officials are grappling with the escalating costs of public pensions.
I wonder what Rhode Islands debt interest payments are each month. Runs to the tune of hundreds of millions a month to banks and investors here in Massachusetts.
The most recent estimate puts the state’s unfunded pension liability at $6.87 billion, a large payout considering that the state budget for the current fiscal year is $7.7 billion. The General Assembly plans a special session this fall to find ways to address the rising cost....
So banksters can have more, more, MORE!
--more--"
But they do have money for this:
"R.I. forms cybersecurity partnership; State says team is model for US" July 12, 2011|By Laura Crimaldi, Associated Press
PROVIDENCE - State officials unveiled yesterday a new team of law enforcement officers, emergency planners, academics, and private businesses aimed at taking down threats to cyber security and tackling cyber attacks when they happen.
Related: One in four US hackers 'is an FBI informer'
$ure i$ a good way to keep the program going, 'eh?
Members of the new Rhode Island Cyber Disruption Team said the partnership is a model for other states trying to pool resources in and out of government to address cybersecurity problems.
“Rhode Island is really leading the country,’’ said J. David Smith, executive director of the state Emergency Management Agency. “Cyber is just one of those elements of the state’s emergency operations plan that we can’t ignore. It has to be a high-profile focus.’’
US Representative Jim Langevin announced the team at a press conference at Dell SecureWorks in Providence. Langevin is cofounder of the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus, and Dell SecureWorks is also a member of the team.
Whenever a politician shows up an agenda is being pushed.
The eight people named to the team include four state and local police officers, two academics, and representatives from the state Emergency Management Agency and the Providence Information Technology Department.
The team has financial support from the State Police and emergency management officials, but no money has been set aside specifically for this effort, said State Police Colonel Steven G. O’Donnell.
The bills are just magically paid via taxpayer dollar, huh?
So where is the slush fund?
The team is responsible for evaluating the state’s computer infrastructure, identifying weaknesses, and proposing solutions to problems. It also will act as a resource for officials in the event of a cybersecurity crisis.
Last month, the state said it had a plan for responding to computer-security problems caused by a natural disaster or widespread virus. A separate effort paid for by US Department of Homeland Security grant money allowed officials to assess the state’s computer infrastructure, said Theresa C. Murray, a regional catastrophe response planner for the state....
Why do I feel my money is being wasted?
Langevin highlighted the field as a potential area of job growth. The Central Intelligence Agency estimates there are about 1,000 people nationwide who are qualified to work on cybersecurity issues at a “world-class level.’’ He said 20,000 to 30,000 cybersecurity experts are needed....
It's a war economy, but more than that. The society itself is morphing into a totalitarian fascist dictatorship with all the fancy baubles and distractions brought to you by an agenda-pushing mouthpiece media.
--more--"
Related: Celebrating AmeriKa: The Stink of Fascism in Rhode Island
Yeah, I thought I smelled something down there (and not fish).
