August, 2019, Part 3, By The Numbers: Many Cities and States Going Bankrupt Because of Debt But Joe Biden Getting Rich For No Reason Whatsoever

On a periodic basis we do some posts that fall under the theme of “by the numbers.” Rather than trust what the American political tells us about reality, we like to examine the real numbers and the real reality in the world to understand what is actually going on. Relying on politicians, and their cohorts in the media, to tell us what is reality is always a sucker bet. They have their own agendas and goals, usually centering around their needs and self-enrichment. So we need to look at the reality of the numbers to determine what is really going on.

Previous analyses of “by the numbers” can be accessed by entering the phrase in the search box above. We will do a few “by the numbers” posts this month where we look at the numbers to truly find out how good, not likely, or bad, most likely, the American political class is doing in managing our tax dollars, protecting our freedoms, and resolving major issues that affect all of us. 

1) Let’s continue our discussion from the other day when in a post we looked at the sad government debt situation that exists in California, Illinois, and New Jersey. The data used in that post comes from the following website:

www.statedata.org

This website contains extensive analyses on the financial status of each state and 75 major cities throughout the country. That discussion was centered on which state government was most likely to go bankrupt first, Illinois, New Jersey or California. Our current favorite is Illinois but the other two states are certainly still in the running.

But these are not the only states that American politicians are driving into financial insolvency. And that is the first topic today in “by the numbers,” i.e. which other states and cities are also in sad financial shape. But before we do that, let’s do a quick review of New Jersey, Illinois, and California. The base measurement will the amount of money EVERY man, woman, and child in a state would have to pay in order to get their state or city out of debt:

• Illinois - each man, woman, and child in the state would have to pay $50,800 each to get Illinois’ state government out of debt.
• If an Illinois resident lives in Chicago, then each city resident would have to pay an additional $38,100 to get the city out of debt, bringing the Illinois/Chicago debt combo to $88,900.
• California - each man, woman, and child in the state would have to pay $22,000 each to get California’s state government out of debt.
• If a California resident also lives in San Francisco, then each city resident would have to pay an additional $22,600 to get the city out of debt, bringing the California/San Francisco debt combo to $44,600.
• New Jersey - each man woman, and child in the state would have to pay $61.400 each to get New Jersey’s state government out of debt. [Note: there are no New Jersey city’s included in the website’s 75 city analyses so there is no state/city combo number available but rest assured that in my original home state there are any number of cities (Trenton, Newark, Jersey City) that are in serious debt trouble.]

- New York: the New York state government is not as bad as New Jersey and Illinois and just a shade below California at $21,500. But the real problem in the state is for residents in New York City where each resident in the city would have to pay a whopping $64,100 to get the city out of its debt hole, making the state/combo a gut wrenching $85,600. What is especially interesting is that residents in New York City owe more than what the entire state of New Jersey’s debt load is based on a per person basis.

- Pennsylvania: the Pennsylvania state government debt hole is also not as bad as California, New Jersey, and Illinois, checking in at a still high $18,800 for each man, woman, and child in the state. But if those folks live in Philadelphia they would have to pay another $27,900 to get the city out of its debt hole, bringing the state/city combo debt level for those living in Philly at $46,700.

- Massachusetts: this state is actually in worse shape than California. The state debt hole is $33,500 per person , about 50% higher than the debt level in California. But if you live in Boston, then each city resident has to pay another $12,800 to get that city out of its debt hole, bringing the state/city debt combo to $46,300, a shade under Pennsylvania.

- Connecticut: this state is also in serious debt problems at the state government level with every man, woman, and child needing to pay a whopping $53,400 each to get this state out of its debt hole. As with New Jersey, there are no Connecticut cities in the 75 cities that were analyzed but obviously $53,400 just to get the state out of its debt hole is a tremendous burden.

All of the above states and cities were rated as either at the D level or F level when it comes to the financial state of their governments. The following states and cities are rated either C or D and while not as bad as the above states and cities, they still have a heavy debt load to be carried by their citizens:

• Ohio/Cleveland combo debt load = $12,400
• Colorado/Denver combo debt load = $13,400
• Washington/Seattle combo = $13,600
• Missouri/St/ Louis combo debt load = $20,800
• Michigan/Detroit debt combo load = $23,500
• Texas/Dallas combo debt load = $31,700

Yes, there are some states where there is actually a budget surplus, i.e. no government debt, or very low government debt such as Iowa, Alaska and Florida. But for the most part, from cities to states to the Federal government, the numbers show that the American political class has buried us in future debt obligations that it may be impossible for that debt to be paid back without difficult and gruesome bankruptcy proceedings.

And the saddest thing about the whole debt issue is that most of this debt incurrence did nothing to fix what is wrong in this country: our schools still under educate, our infrastructure continues to crumble, our citizens still cannot get enough drug addiction treatment and Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security continue to plummet towards insolvency. The numbers above prove that never has so much been paid for so little in return.

2) We have often talked about the number of people killed and wounded on the streets of Chicago every week due to the violent criminal and illegal drug activity that usually takes place in south Chicago. But despite the reality that mass shootings occur every week in the city, no one in the mainstream media or political class seem to care. 

But one number should make them care: last week 51 city residents were shot over the weekend, causing a major hospital to go into shut down mode because it could not handle the carnage coming through its doors. Seven of those shot came from a single mass shooting incident in Douglas Park.

Sad, sad set of numbers.

3) Maybe one reason why politicians are so useless in this country and never accomplish anything is that getting elected and staying elected now is not a way to serve the country and its citizens but just a surefire way to get rich. Joe Biden has been in the American political class for decades. His track record of accomplishments is abysmal. I dare you to name one act, one piece of legislation, one program he headed up or endorsed that made any real difference in your life. 

But according to the New York Times, Joe’s numbers since leaving the White House are pretty good: “Thanks to six-figure speaking engagements and a lucrative deal to write a set of books, Mr. Biden and his wife, Jill, reported an adjusted gross income of about $11 million in 2017 and $4.6 million in 2018 — far more than any of his major Democratic primary opponents.” The numbers show that for very little accomplishments in the world of politics you can make some really nice money.

That will do it for this series of “by the numbers.” Politicians spending a lot of our wealth, politicians creating a lot of their own wealth, and politicians generally accomplishing very little good for society in the process.

Our book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at:

https://www.amazon.com/Walter-Bruno-Korschek/e/B002KYU08Q/ref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share

It is also available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Please pass our message of freedom onward. Let your friends and family know about our websites and blogs, ask your library to carry the book, and respect freedom for both yourselves and others everyday.

Please visit the following sites for freedom:


http://www.reason.com
http://www.cato.org
http://www.bankruptingamerica.org
http://www.conventionofstates.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08j0sYUOb5w