The New York Times reports:
By many measures, Connecticut appears to be brimming with wealth. The state is known for its Gold Coast, populated with chief executives and hedge fund billionaires and specked with mansions on spacious estates. Then there are the suburbs that draw families with placid neighborhoods and high-achieving public schools.
But the state capital is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, and the turbulence rocking Hartford has served as a stark reminder of the gulf between the affluent enclaves that drive Connecticut’s wealth and its larger cities that have long grappled with high crime, underperforming schools and unsure financial footing.
The problems in Hartford are similar to cities across the United States that have sought relief through bankruptcy: its tax base and population have shrunk and its pension obligations and debts have piled up. City officials, who are confronting a budget deficit approaching $50 million, have already made deep cuts in services, sought concessions from labor unions representing public employees and have taken steps, such as hiring lawyers, to position the city to be able to file for bankruptcy.
There's more:
Hartford also has a fundamental tax problem: It is home to government buildings and other properties it has no power to tax, making up just over half the real estate in the city.
Here's a great reason to not allow government to own real estate.....
