In America’s Richest State, the Capital Flirts With Bankruptcy

  • Hartford hires law firm to explore ‘all options’ available
  • Officials haven’t ruled out filing for bankruptcy protection

Hartford

Photographer: Carol Highsmith/Getty Images
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The hedge-fund enclave of Greenwich, on the Connecticut Gold Coast, is about 100 miles and a world away from the state capital.

But the fiscal crisis in Hartford, the historic center of the American insurance industry, is fast becoming more representative than mansions or yachts of the wealthiest state in the U.S. The city is edging closer than ever to the breaking point, waiting for the financially troubled state government to step in.