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The Global Financial Crisis and Municipal Budget Crises: Philadelphia and Trenton

By Scott Pinkelman Philadelphia Budget Crunchers http://budgetcrunchers.wordpress.com. The Global Financial Crisis and Municipal Budget Crises: Philadelphia and Trenton. What is happening? Is The Economy In Crisis?. Will Obama Fix The Economy?.

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The Global Financial Crisis and Municipal Budget Crises: Philadelphia and Trenton

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  1. By Scott Pinkelman Philadelphia Budget Crunchers http://budgetcrunchers.wordpress.com The Global Financial Crisisand Municipal Budget Crises:Philadelphia and Trenton

  2. What is happening?Is The Economy In Crisis?

  3. Will Obama Fix The Economy?

  4. Is The Economy Heading Into the Great Depression 2.0?

  5. Capitalism

  6. Capitalism • An economic system with private ownership and profit. • Profit - Money or wealth that is more than the costs of production and is paid to the owner or investor.

  7. Finance

  8. Finance • The field of financing business by providing credit • Bankers, brokers, traders, etc.

  9. Financial Crisis

  10. Root Causes • Stagnation • Financialization • Deregulation

  11. Stagnation • Early 1970s: End of ‘Keynesianism’ • Deindustrialization • Declining Wages • Stagnation • 1978-2008: Industrial utilization: 81% • 2003-2008: Industrial utilization at 77% • Post 2001 ‘jobless recovery’

  12. (Magdoff and Foster, 2008)

  13. Financialization

  14. Financial Sector Debt • 1973: Total Debt 140% of GDP • Financial Sector: 9.7% • 1989: Total Debt 234% of GDP • Financial Sector: 18.7% • 2005: Total Debt 329% of GDP • Financial Sector: 31.5%

  15. Debt as % of Income

  16. The Price of Debt

  17. The Price of Debt

  18. Deregulation • 1999-2000 • Repeal of Glass-Steagel Act • Commodity Futures Modernization Act • Securities

  19. Recent Causes • Post 2001 Federal Reserve Interest Rates • Speculative Real Estate Bubble • Rise in home prices after 2001 • Second mortgages • The rise of 'subprime' mortgages

  20. Homeownership

  21. Timeline2007-08 • March 2007: Mortgage companies begin to seek to sell subprime lending arms • August 6, 2007: American Home Mortgages files for bankruptcy • August 10, 2007: LIBOR sets .5% higher • August 17, 2007: Federal Reserve cuts discount rate by .5%

  22. Timeline Sept. 2008 • Sept 6 - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac placed under government conservatorship • Sept 14 - Federal Reserve decides to let investment bank Lehman Brothers Fall • Sept 14 - Merril Lynch sold to Bank of America • Sept 16 - Federal Reserve ‘liquidity injections’ into money market funds • September 21 - Investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley become ‘bank holding companies' • Sept 19 – Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) Bailout Announced

  23. Bailout • Officially $700 billion • With loan guarantees: up to $8.56 trillion • Video • Massive outcry; initially voted down in the House • 'Largest transfer of wealth from taxpayers to stockholders in history'

  24. What's it being used for? • Given to get banks lending to one another • No stipulations / little oversight • $18 billion in Wall St. bonuses • Bank of America: Lobbying against the Employee Free Choice Act • Bank Consolidation • 4 superbanks: Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo

  25. Philly Budget Crisis • City Budget $4.03 Bn annually • Nov 2008: $1 billion deficit over 5 years • Jan 15, 2009: Projected deficit raised to $2 billion • $108.1 million in cuts by 2009

  26. Libraries

  27. Essential Services

  28. Causes • 5 year Shortfalls In: • Pension Fund: est $498 million decline • BusinessTax: $119 million (down $33m from last year)‏ • Real Estate Transfer Tax: dropped 37.3% 158m • Property Tax: $180 m less

  29. Pension • Pension Fund has lost 22% as of mid January • Covering these losses will cost the city $359 million • Unable to issue bonds 5 year bonds - $140 million to defer pension payments • Pensions cost 252 million in 1998 – will cost est. 613 million in 2012

  30. FY 2010 Budget • Temporary increases in sales and property taxes • Two-tier pension plan with municipal union • Sliding scale at health centers

  31. Trenton • FY 2010 New Jersey Shortfall • 100 million • Gov Corzine’s proposal to allow municipal gov’ts pension contribution deferrals • 6.8 million in Trenton • 4 million dollar shortfall

  32. Water Sale • Sale of Trenton Water Works pipelines to NJ American Water Co • Estimated at $20 million; State allowing City to count $7.7 million to city • Estimated to help shortfalls to two years • Petition Drive to stop sale • Privatization of public infrastructure • “Sale vs. tax hikes”

  33. Property Taxes • 29% increase in Trenton • 19% (FY 2010) followed by 14.5% (2011) in Philadelphia • Major source of revenue this budget year • Philadelphia FY2010: $9.87 cents per $100 • Trenton FY2010: $2.74 cents per $100

  34. Neoliberalism

  35. Global Neoliberalism • Neoliberalism • The current stage of capitalism. • Starts around the early 1970s • Public services for sale • “No borders” • Dominant ideology in economics. • “Modern Imperialism”

  36. Structural Adjustment ProgramSAP

  37. Structural Adjustment ProgramSAP • International Monetary Fund in the 1980s • Characteristics • Privatization • Free trade • Cutting capital controls

  38. Philly and Trenton in Context • 'Financialized' city budgets • Dependent of stock and bond market • Only growth strategy is attracting outside companies through tax cuts or land deals • Needs of the population aren't met • More taxes, reduced services • Public services are being privatized

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