You Might Not Know Your City Is Going Broke
This article is for subscribers only.
Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) -- The State Budget Crisis Task Forcedeclared this week that U.S. local governments remain beset by“fiscal instability,” and called for reforms to eliminatebudgeting “gimmicks and short-term measures that obscure actualfinancial conditions” of states and cities.
The group led by former Federal Reserve Chairman PaulVolcker and former New York Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitchhad made similar declarations in previous reports. This time,however, it added a provocative recommendation: Congress shouldrevisit the 1975 Tower Amendment, which exempts municipalgovernments from Securities and Exchange Commission financialfiling requirements, in many cases depriving investors ofreliable financial data.