Sense on Cents

It appears that almost every financial road lately leads to Washington. Wall Street banks, Detroit based automotive companies, and large insurance companies have all come to Washington to find the financial support that private markets will not provide. Although these large behemoths have attracted the bulk of the media’s attention, the financial health and well being of our state and local municipalities has an equal, if not greater, impact on our personal lives and financial standing.

With municipal pensions rocked by the selloff in the stock market and tax revenues declining as incomes plummet, what will happen to our state and local budgets? Virtually every municipality in the country is faced with the same predicament – that is, rising liabilities and declining asset values and revenues. How do they handle that widening budget deficit? Increased layoffs and rising tax rates both put a greater burden on our communities but they are a reality. (more…)