Judgment Day: Stockton Is Bankrupt

From Walter Russell Mead, at Via Media:

Stockton is already burdened with 18.7% unemployment and the highest foreclosure rate in the US, and now things are going to get much worse. These are the consequences of pursuing so many expensive public projects and endless employee benefits. The city’s leadership simply assumed that revenue would increase indefinitely. Now it’s all come tumbling down, and pensioners and the poor will suffer the worst of the fallout.

It’s hard to see how the state could be experiencing a “comeback” when multiple cities are declaring bankruptcy—San Bernardino is up next. This is just the beginning of Stockton’s legal and financial mess. The effect of today’s decision will be closely watched by unions and insolvent cities across the country.

Well, yeah it's hard to see a comeback. California state government is the ultimate fiscal black hole. See the Sacramento Bee, "State auditor: California's net worth at negative $127.2 billion."

And it's not getting better anytime soon, according to a weekend report at the Orange County Register, "California state government 'failing' on transparency."