THE GUARDIAN …The most obvious is industrial decline. Along with many once proud factory towns, Scranton has been hit by jobs going abroad and a collapse in manufacturing. Dubbed “the Electric City” by hopeful city marketers – it had the first electric trams in America – Scranton has seen its population almost halve since 1940. Critics say the city government has not adjusted to its reduced size, keeping up wage, retirement and healthcare commitments that it no longer has the revenue to pay off. At the same time, debts have racked up and policy mistakes have been made that have wasted millions. Yet, like so many politicians across the US, many on the city council have refused to approve the raising of taxes that would stave off fiscal catastrophe.
In the era of the anti-government Tea Party, talking about tax rises in America remains politically dangerous, even in the face of bankruptcy.
So Scranton finds itself in a fiscal mess with a dysfunctional and squabbling political system that is struggling to find an answer: a miniature version of what many believe has happened to America as a whole. Mayor Chris Doherty no longer attends council meetings, so bad are relations with the city council. He slashed wages to the minimum despite a judge ruling that he could not do so. But his action prompted the municipal unions to sue in court. He is desperate to raise taxes. The city council refuses… (more)
