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If you have been hanging around here, you would be aware of the problems of Central Falls, RI, about which I’ve been posting since March. So it will come as no surprise that Central Falls, weighed down by unsustainable union contracts and pension costs made...

Last year I documented the saga of the city of Central Falls, Rhode Island, which went into state receivership only to be “rescued” by a new state law which prohibited municipalities from using traditional court receiverships in favor of a new state takeover mechanism. Central Falls became a model...

Someone please tell me why I fall for it every time. Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize Winner Extraordinaire™ (NPWE), writes a biased rant against anything that smacks of fiscal conservatism, and I get all worked up. The latest is Krugman’s attack on how fiscal conservatives, who...

As a big fan of capitalism, I am fascinated by the concept of crowdfunding, whereby individuals network and pool their money via websites to support potentially profitable enterprises initiated by savvy entrepreneurs. It’s small-scale venture capitalism! Perhaps the best known crowdfunding enterprise is Kickstarter, which...

The City of Providence, in my home State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, is in dire financial trouble, as I have posted here many times before. The City, with its large tax-exempt university base and decades-long history of lush public sector benefits, has struggled...

Detroit becomes Central Falls. Can you say “bailout”?  (h/t reader Thomas) Watch the latest video at video.foxbusiness.com

You know all about Rhode Island’s pension and other fiscal problems stemming from an out-of-control public sector which made promises which could be kept only under the most rosy of scenarios, in a state almost completely controlled by unions: Is Rhode Island Our Future Under...

The Providence, RI, School Board voted tonight to send layoff notices to every teacher in the school district, approving a plan about which I posted earlier, Providence Teachers Union Head Compares Layoff Notices To Pearl Harbor Attack. The notices are required to be sent by...

Did you hear, all that talk about being fiscally conservative really is just a Cloward-Piven strategy in reverse.  Rather than overwhelming the system with debt, entitlements, welfare by another name, and dependence upon government, conservatives are seeking to underwhelm the system. With a usual flair for the dramatic,...

A California appeals court has upheld an Order by Gov. Arnold Schwarzennager temporarily cutting state employees back to the federal minimum wage since the California legislature has not passed a budget and is facing a $19 billion annual deficit. As reported in The San Francisco...

Public sector unions just won a huge victory in Rhode Island, with the signing into law of legislation denying municipalities the ability to file for state receivership as a means of renegotiating unsustainable union contracts. I previously highlighted the state receivership filing by the City...

Another “emergency” and pending “catastrophe” is being used to justify more federal government spending to support unsustainable teachers’ union contracts: Education Secretary Arne Duncan says President Obama “absolutely supports” a congressional proposal for $23 billion in emergency education spending in order to stave off teacher...

Last week I chronicled the saga of Central Falls, Rhode Island, which has filed for receivership, the state equivalent of bankruptcy, under the weight of union contracts and debt, Has First Public Sector Union Domino Fallen? Now it turns out that Central Falls has been...

When Democrats get on one of their rants about the dangerous effects of corporate campaign money, what they really mean is that they are against corporate campaign money which might support Republicans. The money which comes from unions to support Democrats is quite alright with...