Bankrupt Calif. City May Be a Harbinger

Overpaid Government Worker has this story from the Washington Post:

When this city of 120,000 declared bankruptcy in May, the extraordinary step appeared to arise from an extraordinary circumstance: Vallejo's payroll largess. Police captains in this blue-collar town north of San Francisco make more than $200,000. The city manager's $338,000 salary is more than that of the vice president or anyone on the Supreme Court.

"I think it's fair to say everybody's here because the wages and benefits are very good," said city Finance Director Bob Stout, with a tight smile.

The special class driving government to bankruptcy.This isn't the failure of free market economics but of the outcome of government workers voting for politicians who can overpay them.