Debt

Effect of the ACA on Personal Debt – It Goes Down

April 21, 2016 Debt

This is as we – or at least most of us – would expect. Compared to people in states that did not expand Medicaid under the ACA, newly available Medicaid in States that expanded the program enabled newly covered people to reduce their unpaid bills and debts.  Luojia Hu, Robert Kaestner, Bhashkar Mazumder, Sarah Miller, […]

Read the full article →

Debt Markers for Selected Upstate NYS Cities

January 19, 2015 Budget

Continuing the discussion regarding the City of Albany, one of the participants was concerned about debt and the potential for taking on excess amounts. That’s always a legitimate concern. So I ran some comparisons. In the first, for selected cities in New York, you’ll see a really good indicator. That is debt service (principle and interest) as […]

Read the full article →

Throwing Good Money After Bad … Over and Over and Over

October 16, 2012 Bond Rating

Harrisburg, PA is flat broke and the problem is related to its being legally, financially tied to a public authority, the Harrisburg Authority Resource Recovery Facility, which financed and built a waste incinerator. But this is awful. Bond Girl (@munilass on Twitter) lays out the detail at “Self-Evident”. This is a longish piece, but at […]

Read the full article →

County on Crack? (Nassau County Debt Variety)

September 7, 2012 County Government

Nassau County, NY is not in financial trouble because of economic decline. It’s among the wealthiest counties in New York. It is in financial trouble because of an lengthy history of bad decision-making and evidently an inability to break its debt habit. Nassau County has a history of borrowing to pay tax refunds. Having been […]

Read the full article →

Should the Federal Reserve Lend to State and Local Governments?

June 23, 2012 Debt

Should state and local governments borrow from the Federal Reserve? Yes. Why? They’ll pay lower interest rates, thereby saving money without reducing services. The only losers will be the banks and other lenders, who are doing just fine, thank you. Should the Federal Reserve Lend to state and local governments? Yes. Why? See above. And […]

Read the full article →

Part of the Cost of Government is Wall Street Scam

June 23, 2012 Bonds

Buried deep within the structures of public finance is the cash for capital projects that has not yet been spent because projects take time. This cash sits in accounts that earn interest. And the interest paid is determined by auctions. But many of these auctions are rigged. Matt Taibbi, of Rolling Stone, covers a trial […]

Read the full article →

Big Credit Downgrades Can Say Two Things, One About the Rated, One About the Rating Agency

May 10, 2012 County

Paul Greaves on Twitter on the Moody’s downgrade from A2 to Baa3 of Rockland County, NY: Fundamental problem with super downgrades like Rockland County – investors buy munis for capital preservation, diversity and stability. Greaves is right. But where do abrupt downgrades come from? Either something abruptly changed in financial condition of the organization being […]

Read the full article →

Talk Radio Made Me Do It

March 22, 2012 Budget

Talk radio is certainly not my gig. But I was asked on to a local show, Al Roney on AM 1300, this afternoon and it really forced me to do something I don’t do often, or particularly well: really simplify. As in simplify a lot. So it was an interesting and personally challenging exercise. The […]

Read the full article →

Kudos to the NYS State Comptroller, but …

December 9, 2011 Budget

My last post, Yes, Rockland County is in Trouble, was devoted to the release by New York’s Comptroller, Tom DiNapoli, of an Audit (PDF) of Rockland’s financial condition. Clearly, the Comptroller and his staff have been watching closely enough to start their audit earlier this year. Good for them. Carefully done audits take time and […]

Read the full article →

Yes, Rockland County is in Trouble

December 9, 2011 Budget

Yesterday, after taking a quick look at the budget numbers and actions for 2012, I asked the question, is Rockland County (NY) in trouble? The answer is yes. This morning, the NYS Comptroller released the following (the emphases are mine): DiNAPOLI: POOR BUDGET PRACTICES HURTING ROCKLAND COUNTY County Has Incurred Large Debt and General Fund […]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries