Golden Arches and Broken Dreams: American Cities Drown in Debt

[sysop]

San Bernardino, California, has gone from being the birthplace of McDonald's, one of the world's most successful companies, to a mound of unpaid debts. It's a sad example of what a lack of infrastructure investment and an almost religious aversion to higher taxes have done to cities across the United States.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...-a-875468.html

[susanne316]

Living here 30 years I have come to realize at some point the american people will stand up and do the right thing. The extreme fractions have held america hostage for far too long and judging by the last election are finally waking up. The house is up for election in 2 years and after that I am sure the gridlock will finally end. The hate for one black guy from Chicago can not go on anymore. Enough is enough! There are a few other cities in the USA that are experiencing such hardship ..it has got to end!

[bradywestwater]

I am not certain if the main problem is how this article was translated into English - or how much of it's problems are due to a lack of understanding of the very complex issues facing cities such as San Bernardino - but it give a very incomplete - and at times even inaccurate - view of the situation.

On the issue of building a direct transit lines to Los Angeles - that is not an issue any distant suburban city has the resources - or even the legal authority to do. That is strictly done my multi-county regional agencies - and it has been done.

There are daily commuter trains - run by Metro-Link and Amtrak that connect San Bernardino to the heart of Downtown Los Angeles - and to the business districts of dozens of other cities in multiple counties in Southern California. There are also express buses that use the El Monte Busway - along with other routes - that also directly connect San Bernardino to Downtown Los Angeles and dozens of other regional jobs centers.

On the issue of property taxes, first the amount given is wrong. The one percent is only the baseline amount - there are then multiple other property taxes - either as an additional percentage - or as a per parcel tax and voters can - and have approved - above the one percent minimum that is collected.

In addition, the article seems to state this was a tax limit placed by the voters of San Bernardino which is incorrect. It was a state wide vote - not a local choice.

There are also numerous other other factual errors that are a result quoting a few statistics but not understanding enough of their context to correctly interrupt them. And completely left out of the article were some of the unique problems that San Bernardino faced and which largely caused its short term problems while other cities around it were able to survive the recession.

However the article did address - briefly - the only real long term problem facing cities such as San Bernardino. And that problem is the main reason why so many US cities are facing major financial problems. Overly generous, inflation adjusted public employee pensions and health benefits are escalating so rapidly - that no matter how high taxes are raised - it is now impossible for any city such as San Bernardino to survive unless those costs are brought under control.