Baltimore is on the path of democratic ruin!

[FJO]

Looks like Baltimore was decreed by Fate, God, Providence or just blind luck to be the host of a successful NFL team.

The awesome COLTS were snuck out of Baltimore under the cover of night, and became Super Bowl Champions a few years later, in Indianapolis.

Then Baltimore had the blind luck of turning the Cleveland Browns into champions, as Baltimore Ravens.

 

[TruthSeeker56]

There is some hope for a turnaround in the works.
Slot machines are supposed to become a revenue generator for the city.
See: Baltimore To Get Slots Casino In 2014 « CBS Baltimore

Yeah, that whole casino thing worked out real well for DETROIT, too.

 

[FJO]

There is some hope for a turnaround in the works.
Slot machines are supposed to become a revenue generator for the city.
See: Baltimore To Get Slots Casino In 2014 « CBS Baltimore

Yeah, that whole casino thing worked out real well for DETROIT, too.

Might work for Baltimore, since there is no Windsor, Ontario, Canada across the river.

 

[DiamondDave]

There is some hope for a turnaround in the works.
Slot machines are supposed to become a revenue generator for the city.
See: Baltimore To Get Slots Casino In 2014 « CBS Baltimore

Yeah, that whole casino thing worked out real well for DETROIT, too.

Might work for Baltimore, since there is no Windsor, Ontario, Canada across the river.

But there is Delaware, Atl City, and Charlestown WVA

 

[bripat9643]

City of Baltimore is on a path to financial ruin, report says | Fox News

Baltimore is already a shit hole. This will only make things worse. I'm so glad I moved from there.

 

[LogikAndReazon]

All they need to do is raise taxes on the rich and those greedy corporations.....lol

 

[The Rabbi]

What, you think that the current city council should have forced people to live in Baltimore, going back to 1950? Well, that's intelligent!!

Geezus are you stupid or what? Do you think policies put in place raising taxes and lowering quality of life isn't responsible for a net outmigration from the city? Do you think Fox made all that up?

 

[waltky]

Baltimore joins other cities in road to bankruptcy...

City of Baltimore is on a path to financial ruin, report says
February 06, 2013 WASHINGTON – The Baltimore city government is on a path to financial ruin and must enact major reforms to stave off bankruptcy, according to a 10-year forecast the city commissioned from an outside firm.

The forecast, obtained by The Associated Press ahead of its release to the public and the City Council on Wednesday, shows that the city will accumulate $745 million in budget deficits over the next decade because of a widening gap between projected revenues and expenditures. If the city's infrastructure needs and its liability for retiree health care benefits are included, the total shortfall reaches $2 billion over 10 years, the report found. Baltimore's annual operating budget is $2.2 billion. The report was prepared by Philadelphia-based Public Financial Management Inc., a consulting firm that has prepared similar forecasts for Miami, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and the District of Columbia. Baltimore's decision to commission the forecast differs from those cities because each of them had already ceded financial oversight to the state, or in the district's case, the federal government.

The forecast will provide the basis for financial reforms that Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake plans to propose next week. The city has dealt with budget deficits for the past several years, closing a $121 million gap in 2010. But those deficits have been addressed with one-time fixes that haven't addressed the long-term structural imbalance. "When you have budget after budget and you know that there are systemic problems, I felt an obligation to do more than what we have done in the past," Rawlings-Blake told the AP. The forecast, she said, shows that the city needs to address its financial woes "before it's too late, and somebody is coming in and making these choices for us."

That's what happened to the District of Columbia, 38 miles to the south, in 1995 after the city reported a budget deficit of $700 million. Congress created a financial control board that instituted tight spending controls and ultimately took over all hiring and firing in nine city agencies. The spending cuts, combined with a robust regional and national economy, drove the nation's capital back into the black. Not all municipalities have been so fortunate. In late 2011, Jefferson County, Ala., filed the nation's largest-ever local government bankruptcy, citing $4.15 billion in debt, and last year, Stockton, Calif., became the largest American city to declare bankruptcy.

In Baltimore, the erosion of the tax base is easy to see. The city's population has dropped from a peak of 950,000 in 1950 to 619,000 today, and while the decline has slowed, there have been few signs of the trend reversing. The median income is $40,000, and 22 percent of the city's residents live in poverty, according to Census data. The city also has 16,000 vacant properties. Baltimore already has the highest property taxes in Maryland -- twice as high as in neighboring Baltimore County. The city's local income taxes are the highest allowed under state law. While the city enacted some new taxes to deal with the 2010 deficit -- including taxes on bottled beverages and higher hotel and parking levies -- city officials say they can't tax their way out of the problem without driving away residents and businesses. "We've got to go from a vicious cycle to a virtuous cycle. That starts with a good, stable fiscal foundation for the city government," said Andrew Kleine, the city's budget director. "When you've lost so much population and the tax base has shrunk, it's very difficult to deal with."

Read more: City of Baltimore is on a path to financial ruin, report says | Fox News

 

[TheOldSchool]

I live about an hour outside of Baltimore and have been there many times. That place sucks and it has nothing to do with politics. Baltimorians are all lunatics.

And they should stop messing with my Nationals

 

[Avatar4321]

Baltimore does suck. I avoid i when I can. It's a shame that it influences so much of the state's politics.

 

[UKRider]

But the Orioles are just fine.

 

[Bill Angel]

But the Orioles are just fine.

The circus is in town, and they had an excellent turnout yesterday and a very good show.

Patriotic opening to the Circus

Clowns at the Circus

 

[Rozman]

Maybe what the city of Baltimore needs are more people
on government assistance.
Nancy Pelosi a great leader of the democrat party swears by this.
WE get a real boost to the economy.
We get a real good bang for the buck....

Way to go Nancy.
You go GIRL!

 

[HomeInspect]

I live in MD but try to stay out of Baltimore. Working people have been fleeing the city for years now, due to overtaxation, saftey, and lack of services. With less working people living there, the tax base goes down, so they keep increases the taxes to make up for it... and then more people leave. It's a cycle that has brought the city to its knees. But when has any Dem plan been anything else but raising taxes? Meanwhile, the governor of MD has increased taxes and fees 37 times, robbed the rainy day fund, and put the state deep into a hole.. and this guy (O'Malley) wants to be POTUS and do the same for the country

 

[Rozman]

We just need to spend more according to Paul Krugman
the economist who the democrat party gets their panties all wet for.
Go ahead Libs keep borrowing and spending and when that fails
blame the republicans.