Democrat Fail: Detroit is the most miserable city in the United States

The rest of the top 10 list is here. The common thread is longtime leadership by democrats.

Via Breitbart:

According to Forbes rankings, Detroit is the most miserable city in the United States.

Home to violent crimes, high unemployment, decreasing population and economic crises, Detroit beat out Miami (last years winner) along with Flint-MI, Chicago-IL, and Modesto-CA.  The news comes on the heels of a panel of experts who said last week “the automotive city was facing a fiscal emergency and potential bankruptcy, as well as a possible financial takeover by the state.”

The criteria: “Forbes looked at 200 of the country’s largest urban areas and ranked them on factors including crime rates, foreclosures, taxes, home prices, commute times, weather and decreasing populations.”

Detroit has been run by Democrat mayors since 1964.

Forbes rates taxes as a factor, but that may be overstated for Detroit. Half of property owners are refusing (or can't) to pay their taxes. 

Via Detroit News:

Detroit — Nearly half of the owners of Detroit’s 305,000 properties failed to pay their tax bills last year, exacerbating a punishing cycle of declining revenues and diminished services for a city in a financial crisis, according to a Detroit News analysis of government records.

The News reviewed more than 200,000 pages of tax documents and found that 47 percent of the city’s taxable parcels are delinquent on their 2011 bills. Some $246.5 million in taxes and fees went uncollected, about half of which was due Detroit and the rest to other entities, including Wayne County, Detroit Public Schools and the library.

No wonder Detroit is facing a possible Chapter 9 bankruptcy.

Good News: China buys Obama's favorite bankrupt green battery company...

China is buying A123 Battery Systems...

Via WSJ:

Chinese-owned auto-parts manufacturer Wanxiang America Corp. won the bidding for A123 Systems Inc., AONEQ -9.21% the government-backed battery maker that has yet to turn a profit, at a bankruptcy auction that ended early Saturday morning.

Wanxiang's winning bid of $256.6 million topped a combined offer from Milwaukee-based auto-parts manufacturer Johnson Controls Inc. JCI +2.03% and electronics maker NEC Corp. 6701.TO -0.65% of Japan, the company said. German conglomerate Siemens AG SIE.XE +0.19% also submitted a qualified bid at the auction, which kicked off Thursday at the Chicago office of Latham & Watkins, the law firm representing A123 in its Chapter 11 case.

Wanxiang, a unit of China's Wanxiang Group, is buying most of A123—which in addition to its automotive-battery business has a consumer arm and grid-energy storage division—except for its government business, which was bought for $2.25 million by Navitas Systems, a Chicago area company spun off from Sun MicroSystems. More here...

Bankrupt: Yet another Obama supported green company

This time it is Solar Trust of America. This name is ironic, isn't it?

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — A California solar energy company that was unable to meet a deadline for an Energy Department loan guarantee last year has sought bankruptcy protection in Delaware.

Solar Trust of America’s Chapter 11 filing on Monday listed assets between $1 million and $10 million, and liabilities between $10 million and $50 million.

The filing comes amid the ongoing controversy surrounding Solyndra, a solar firm that received a half-billion dollar federal loan and was touted by the Obama administration before declaring bankruptcy last year.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and California Gov. Jerry Brown were on hand last June when Solar Trust broke ground on a 1,000-megawatt project in California. The project was touted as the world’s largest solar power plant and a keystone of the Obama administration’s efforts to promote solar energy.

According to the Department of Energy website, They got a $2.1 billion loan commitment. 

Detroit calls emergency budget meeting to avoid emergency state takeover, not enough council members show up to hold the meeting

Do you need to ask why Detroit is in an emergency situation now? I didn't think so.

A critical Detroit City Council meeting this afternoon to debate widespread, painful cuts in a last-minute effort to avoid an emergency manager ended abruptly because not enough council members showed up.

The 1 p.m. meeting ended about a half hour later after Council President Charles Pugh noticed that most of his colleagues weren't present.

Five of the nine council members are required for the meeting to be legal.

After recognizing only four council members were present... Keep on reading...

People's Republic of California running out of money again

California's sham budget is crumbling due to lack of funds. Smoke and mirrors only last a short time.

(SacBee) — California will run out of cash by early March if the state does not take swift action to find $3.3 billion through payment delays and borrowing, according to a letter state Controller John Chiang sent to state lawmakers today.

The announcement is surprising since lawmakers previously believed the state had enough cash to last through the fiscal year that ends in June.

But Chiang said additional cash management solutions are needed because state tax revenues are $2.6 billion less than what Gov. Jerry Brown and state lawmakers assumed in their optimistic budget last year. Meanwhile, Chiang said, the state is spending $2.6 billion more than state leaders planned on.

The Assembly budget committee approved a bill today that would enable $865 million of borrowing from existing state accounts, Senate Bill 95. Chiang, after consultation with the Department of Finance and state Treasurer Bill Lockyer, is also seeking about $2.4 billion in delayed payments to universities, counties and Medi-Cal, as well as additional borrowing from outside investors. Keep on reading...

Taking a bullet train to bankruptcy

Everyone knows California state government is practically bankrupt from excessive social program spending, bloated union pension obligations, years of borrowing and flight of their business tax base. Gov. Jerry Brown and California Democrats think this would be a good time to launch a $100 billion high-speed rail public works project that won't be completed until 2033.

While Republicans criticized the rising cost – Senate Republican Leader Bob Dutton called the project a "boondoggle that needs to be derailed" – Gov. Jerry Brown and leaders of the Democratic-controlled Legislature issued praise, putting the project on firmer ground ahead of legislative hearings next year.

"This plan represents a new day, a new time and a new beginning," Tom Umberg, chairman of the rail authority board, told reporters at the California State Railroad Museum.

If approved, the authority will start construction next fall in the Central Valley, from Bakersfield to near Chowchilla, expanding the line to San Francisco and the Los Angeles area by 2033. The authority estimated construction could cost $98.5 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars, more than twice the previous estimate of $43 billion.

Rail officials pressed their plan at the rail museum from a lectern at the head of a Northwestern Pacific locomotive, steeping their appeal in the tradition of infrastructure spending. Keep on reading...

U.S. in Worse Financial Shape Than Greece

When you look at how much we are "on the hook" for, U.S. is in worse financial shape than Greece. We have liabilities of nearly $100 trillion!

(CNBC) – When adding in all of the money owed to cover future liabilities in entitlement programs the US is actually in worse financial shape than Greece and other debt-laden European countries, Pimco’s Bill Gross told CNBC Monday.

Much of the public focus is on the nation’s public debt, which is $14.3 trillion. But that doesn’t include money guaranteed for Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, which comes to close to $50 trillion, according to government figures.

The government also is on the hook for other debts such as the programs related to the bailout of the financial system following the crisis of 2008 and 2009, government figures show.

Taken together, Gross puts the total at “nearly $100 trillion,” that while perhaps a bit on the high side, places the country in a highly unenviable fiscal position that he said won’t find a solution overnight.

Barack Obama's home state of Illinois "near the point of fiscal disintegration"

If you think California is in bad shape financially, Barack Obama's home state of Illinois isn't much better off. Forty-six percent of their $28 billion budget is a deficit.

Barack Obama's home state of Illinois is near the point of fiscal disintegration...

The state has been paying bills with unfunded vouchers since October. A fifth of buses have stopped. Libraries, owed $400m (£263m), are closing one day a week. Schools are owed $725m. Unable to pay teachers, they are preparing mass lay-offs. "It's a catastrophe", said the Schools Superintendent.

In Alexander County, the sheriff's patrol cars have been repossessed; three-quarters of his officers are laid off; the local prison has refused to take county inmates until debts are paid.

On top of this, the Chicago Tribune has reported Illinois has the poorest funded pension systems in the nation. Soon, Illinois may run out of budget gimmicks and financially disintegrate.

Air America Goes Belly Up

Air America Media has ceased live programming and will file soon under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code. This liberal talk radio network helped boost the careers of liberals Al Franken and Rachel Maddow, but they struggled financially. Americans didn't want to hear their loony liberal drivel. Goodbye and good riddance.

It is with the greatest regret, on behalf of our Board, that we must announce that Air America Media is ceasing its live programming operations as of this afternoon, and that the Company will file soon under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code to carry out an orderly winding-down of the business.

The very difficult economic environment has had a significant impact on Air America's business. This past year has seen a "perfect storm" in the media industry generally. National and local advertising revenues have fallen drastically, causing many media companies nationwide to fold or seek bankruptcy protection. From large to small, recent bankruptcies like Citadel Broadcasting and closures like that of the industry's long-time trade publication Radio and Records have signaled that these are very difficult and rapidly changing times.

Air America blames this on the economy, not the message. Meanwhile, FOX News ratings are skyrocketing.

Good News! ACORN Is Broke

Reportedly, ACORN insiders are saying the organization may have to file bankruptcy by Christmas. They are closing offices all across America. ACORN is a radical advocacy group the secretly worked to elect Barack Obama as President. Recently, there have been many charges of fraud and corruption filed against the organization.

From American Spectator:

As its financial resources dwindle, radical advocacy group and organized crime syndicate ACORN may have to file for bankruptcy protection before Christmas, ACORN insiders say.

"They may have to file for bankruptcy if they don't have several big pending grants approved or get emergency loans," a highly placed ACORN source told me over the weekend. This information bolsters Rep. Darrell Issa's (R-Calif.) claim last week that ACORN is in turmoil amidst internal power struggles and on the verge of bankruptcy....

Ten States May Go 'Belly Up' In 2010

High unemployment, reduced tax revenues and demands from generous social programs are severely straining state budgets. Much of the early stimulus money went to bail out struggling state governments, but most of that money is gone now. The ten states in danger of imminent bankruptcy are California, Arizona, Rhode Island, Michigan, Oregon, Nevada, Florida, New Jersey, Illinois and Wisconsin. Nine of the ten states voted for Barack Obama in 2008. Of the group, only Arizona voted for John McCain. Arizona is McCain's home state. The states in peril hold one third of the US population.

WND reported:

Ten states are facing imminent bankruptcy...

The 10 states, accounting for approximately one-third of the U.S. population, face declines in tax revenue as unemployment now officially tops 10 percent and budget gaps that mean higher taxes loom in the future. State government officials have been laid off, key social services including prisons and police are strained and schools have been closed.

Bill O'Reilly: Barack Obama Is Bankrupting the US (video)

Top rated cable talk show host, Bill O'Reilly, is sounding the alarm on the rapidly rising national debt.

From YouTube:

Bill O'Reilly tonight took on the leftwing media for not reporting that Barack Obama is bankrupting the country and may do so by Christmas.

Bill O'Reilly:

"If we continue to go in this direction, the country will be bankrupt perhaps by the end of this year."

New GM will need tens of billions in new government money

In order to save the UAW GM, the government will need to forgive $19.4 billion in loans and provide the "new" GM with tens of billions in additional support until the car market improves.
The Financial Times is reporting:

General Motors is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection as early as May 31, but a speedy restructuring of the car maker faces headwinds from an increasingly skeptical US Congress.

Under the current plan, the US government would cancel most or all of its existing debt in the company and invest in a “new” GM that could emerge from bankruptcy in the autumn, said a person close to the matter.

GM would receive tens of billions of dollars in new government money, probably in stages, to prop up its business at a time when car sales are threatening to be lower than the 10m annual rate at which GM says it can break even.

The person said that the government may keep a slice of debt in the “old” GM assets that are wound down in bankruptcy to retain leverage over the process.

GM, the largest US car maker, is likely to file for bankruptcy protection even if 100 per cent of bondholders agree to a debt swap proposed by the company and the government, said people close to the company. An agreement looked unlikely on Friday, after a bondholder committee said it would reject the offer.

California has a spending rather than revenue problem (video)

California state government is bankrupt, but San Diego has a $700 million surplus. How? Watch as San Diego Board of Supervisors Chairman Dianne Jacob explains why California has a spending rather than revenue problem.

Did California Spend Too Much? (video)

Obama sets bankrupt auto companies on war path with consumers

The new fuel mileage standards the Obama administration is proposing have set bankrupt Detroit car manufacturers on a war path with the consumers that they need to buy their product. Americans will not buy the expensive hybrid or electric cars that will be needed to meet these stringent new standards unless gas taxes are significantly raised or the government subsidizes every vehicle. The Wall Street Journal is reporting:

Start with technology. The President's proposed standards would raise fuel economy goals higher and faster than even the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration believes is practical. Last year, NHTSA issued a proposed rule making that would have raised fuel economy to 32.2 mpg by 2015 for cars and light trucks combined. Its 376-page report notes that "the resources used to meet overly stringent CAFE standards . . . would better be allocated to other uses such as technology research and development, or improvements in vehicle safety."

The new U.S. fleet will almost certainly be made up of hybrids and electric cars. This comports with the explicit intention of the President and his environmental partners to back out fossil fuels. One may ask: Once Detroit is forced to build these cars, will free Americans want to buy them, at any price?

Unless we outlaw the bigger cars that recent sales figures have shown Americans prefer any time gas prices fall below $4 per gallon, Detroit will need help marketing these small vehicles. As GM's Bob Lutz put it not long ago, "Very few people will want to change what has been their 'nationality given' right to drive big and bigger if the price of gas is $1.50 or $2 or even $2.50. Those prices will put the CAFE-mandated manufacturers at war with their customers."

All solutions to this problem flow from Washington. One would be to give substantial tax subsidies to buyers. Another would be to impose a federal gas tax to jack up the price of gasoline to $4 per gallon and keep it there. This is the solution that keeps Europeans driving small cars with tiny engines. High gasoline prices have become a political third rail in U.S. politics, and the Obama Administration insists it isn't interested in subsidies or taxes.

If Obama is somehow able to meet his mileage goals, there will not be enough money to repair the roads. Gas taxes pay for the bulk of road maintenance. If there is a 30% reduction in gas usage, the road maintenance costs will have to be funded by higher taxes somewhere. This will offset much of the gas cost savings officials are touting. Consumers will also be stuck with the $1300 hike in vehicle costs the new regulations will cause.

The New York Times is spinning into bankruptcy and good riddance

The New York Times is headed to an almost inevitable bankruptcy. The owe more than $1 billion. They lost another $75 million in the first quarter of this year and cash is running low($34 million.) In recent years, They have lost both readers and advertisers. Many people claim their left wing bias has cost them severely. They attacked President Bush unrelentingly. Now, they have become what amounts to little more than a propaganda outlet for Barack Obama and progressive democrats. Market forces should be allowed to rule and this dinosaur of the left should die. This is sad. Once, the New York Times was the most highly respected newspaper in the U.S. Editorial by Bill O’Reilly via Boston Herald.

The nation’s largest left-wing newspaper and the bible for network news producers and bookers may be going under. This past week, The New York Times [NYT] announced more staggering losses: nearly $75 million in the first quarter alone. The New York Post is reporting that the Times Company owes more than $1 billion and has just $34 million in the bank. A few months ago, the company borrowed $250 million from Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim at a reported 14 percent interest rate. With things going south fast (pardon the pun), Slim might want to put in a call to Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr.

The spin from Sulzberger is that the Internet is strangling the newspaper industry, and there is some truth to that. Why read an ideologically crazed paper when you can acquire a variety of information on your computer? But other papers are not suffering nearly as much as the Times, so there must be more to it.

There is no question that the Times has journalistic talent. This week the paper won five Pulitzers. It’s true that the Pulitzer people favor left-wing operations (the past eight Pulitzer Prizes for commentary have gone to liberal writers), but New York Times journalists often do good reporting.

The problem is that under Sulzberger and executive editor Bill Keller, the Times has gone crazy left, attacking those with whom the paper disagrees and demonstrating a hatred for conservatives (particularly President Bush) that is almost pathological. The Times features liberal columnists in every section of the paper, and they hit low, often using personal invective to smear perceived opponents.

GM is softening opposition to bankruptcy

General Motors new CEO Fritz Henderson does not seem to be opposed to bankruptcy. He is still paying lip service to the idea GM and their stakeholders can work out a deal on their own, but he seems resigned to an inevitable restructuring through the court system. Bondholders have hesitated to exchange their debt for stock. Bondholders get in line in front of stockholders during bankruptcy proceedings. The UAW leadership seems unable to find the 'cahones' to make serious cuts in member wages and benefits. Undoubtedly, the leadership would face a serious backlash if they accepted the kind of draconian reductions that will be required to save GM. The Obama Administration is treading lightly for fear of angering union members. This is why Chrysler and GM were give more time to arrange deals. There is little expectation any deals will emerge. This extension provides cover for the Obama Administration. President Obama can claim he did everything possible to protect the UAW. The best solution for everyone now(except GM stockholders) is to allow GM to go into a structured bankruptcy. Of course,there will be massive finger pointing when this occurs. President Obama has spent billions of our tax dollars to insure the UAW doesn't point the finger at him.

GM CEO open to bankruptcy 'if it's required'

General Motors Corp. is softening its opposition to bankruptcy reorganization a little more, with new CEO Fritz Henderson saying in an interview broadcast on Sunday, "if it's required, that's what we'll do."

GM still prefers to do its restructuring without bankruptcy protection, Henderson said in an interview taped by CNN Friday for its program "State of the Union."

Henderson's predecessor Rick Wagoner was sacked last month after the federal auto restructuring task force determined he wasn't restructuring fast enough or deep enough. Wagoner had resisted bankruptcy, fearing it would drive customers away and force GM into liquidation.

Henderson said the task force and President Barack Obama both indicated that bankruptcy protection "may very well be the best solution for the company to achieve these goals, which is why when you look at the situation, we said, 'OK, we'll spend the time to try to complete the work, more aggressive work, outside of the court process, but if it's required, that's what we'll do.'" (excerpt) read more at breitbart.com

Obama authorizes more debt spending in 45 days than Ronald Reagen did in eight years

The Congressional Budget Office found that the ten year deficits of the Obama Administration plan will be about $2.3 trillion higher than the $6.97 trillion the White House has projected. Can the US withstand that level of debt? We expect this level of debt from Argentina, Bolivia, and Mexico, but they are considered countries at risk of debt default. If the current level of spending continues, this country may go broke trying to service the debt. How can our children and grandchildren ever hope to pay this off?

Obama's Fuzzy Math
A trillion here, a trillion there . . .
by Stephen Moore
04/06/2009, Volume 014, Issue 28

In his press conference last Tuesday, Barack Obama said that America must reject the "borrow and spend" policies of the past in favor of a strategy of "save and invest." Sounds good. So why is Obama proposing to borrow and spend more than any president in the history of the republic? Already in the first 45 days of his administration, the federal government has authorized more debt spending than Ronald Reagan did in eight years in office.

Then last week the Democrats' own Congressional Budget Office found that the ten-year deficits of the Obama plan will be about $2.3 trillion higher than the $6.97 trillion the White House is projecting. This is the policy of the party that was swept back into power in 2006 and 2008 promising a return to an era of fiscal responsibility.

Welcome to the Obama doctrine. It is built on the high stakes economic gamble that the public and the bond markets will tolerate trillions of dollars of borrowing to pay for massive expansions in government spending on popular income transfer programs. The corollary to this doctrine is that the left will create a political imperative to jack up tax rates to pay for higher spending commitments made today.

But the news on the red ink front is much worse than the president or even the CBO's budget report suggests. If all of Obama's "transformational" policy objectives--from global warming taxes to universal health care to doubling the Department of Energy's budget--are enacted, the debt is likely
to increase from about 40 percent of GDP today to close to 100 percent of GDP by 2018. The ten-year debt is likely to be at least $6 trillion higher--or more than one-half trillion of higher deficits a year from now until forever--than the Obama budget projects.

These are uncharted levels of debt for the United States--though not for such high-flying nations as Argentina, Bolivia, and Mexico. (excerpt) read more at weeklystandard.com

Auto parts supplier bailout will fail

The Obama Administration has committed $5 billion of TARP money to try to prop up the "Big Three's" supplier base. Under this program, suppliers to GM and Chrysler will be able to sell their parts to an intermediary if they are willing to pay a 3% premium. GM and Chrysler will have to pay $250 million each to join. Ford is declining this program. If GM and Chrysler are going to file chapter 11 soon, this might help the suppliers, who are very dependent on them, to survive a few more months until the bankruptcy is resolved. However, this will not be a long term solution to the problems of the auto parts suppliers. They are losing money on ever part they sell due to low volume and years of price squeezing by the auto manufacturers. This will make them less profitable. For instance, if they are losing $1 on a $20 auto part now, they will lose $1.60 under this program. They might be able to withstand this for a short time period, but long term this will force them into bankruptcy sooner or later. If GM and Chrysler quickly go into chapter 11 bankruptcy, then the suppliers will be able to drop this surcharge as soon as the bankruptcy judge arranges regular payments for their product. Perhaps that is the real plan.

GM is on the verge of bankruptcy

An auditors report indicates that GM will likely have to enter chapter 11 bankruptcy. It is highly unusual for an auditor to publicly publish that information. GM must be far worse off than thought. According to the report, GM would need a massive restructuring plan to survive. Whatever happens, the remaining company will not be the GM your parents knew. Since the UAW have only offered token concessions in negotiations, the best thing for them would be a structured bankruptcy. The taxpayers have put enough money down this rat hole.

GM's auditors raise the specter of Chapter 11
Mar 5 05:24 PM US/Eastern
By TOM KRISHER
AP Auto Writer

DETROIT (AP) - Of all the words in General Motors Corp.'s 402-page annual report, none is more jarring than two written by the company's auditors: "Substantial doubt."

The doubt, according to Deloitte & Touche LLC, is about whether GM can overcome its staggering losses and generate enough cash to stay in business, or remain a "going concern" as accountants would say.

GM concedes in the report filed Thursday that it's on the edge of bankruptcy and won't be able to avoid it unless it gets more government money and successfully executes a huge restructuring plan.

It's no surprise that auditors would question GM's viability. The Detroit-based behemoth lost $30.9 billion last year, is living on $13.4 billion in government loans, and is seeking up to $30 billion as it tries to survive the worst auto sales climate in 27 years.

But the auditors' comments are serious because the threshold for raising such concerns is tilted heavily in favor of companies, and often they can negotiate them away, said John Pottow, a University of Michigan Law School professor who specializes in bankruptcy.

"If you get a qualified going concern audit letter like this, that suggests you are in extreme financial distress and very likely may file for bankruptcy," he said. (excerpt) read more at Breitbart.com