Houston’s Democratic mayor reveals the Texas city is BROKE with a $160 MILLION deficit and has stopped the city from paying firefighters

[Billiejeens]

This is true.

Houston can't hear you over its low unemployment. They have a $400MM surplus currently.

Is this in the correct thread?

 

[Concerned American]

This is true.

Houston can't hear you over its low unemployment. They have a $400MM surplus currently.

Thats why they are threatening to cut public safety, eh. You can bet they won't cut social or discretionary spending. They'll raise taxes first and use public safety as justification.

 

[DGS49]

The basic problem is Democracy (capital 'D' referring to the political party of that name).

These Democrat city "machines" buy votes and ensure their perpetual power by making costly concessions to the unions that represent City workers. This is true all over the country, but mainly in Democrat controlled cities. They are not conspicuously "generous" with wages, because wages are highly visible and working-class voters would become aroused if they thought that City workers were making too much. But unionized City workers get a cornucopia of expensive and extraordinary benefits, including "Cadillac" healthcare plans, paid parental leave, lots of sick time and vacation time, and so on. (Supervisory and non-union folks get the same things, "just to be fair"). But the REAL outrage is PENSIONS. City workers in places like Houston can retire after 30 years on the job (less for uniformed people), usually in their early 50's, and the extra outrage is that they City continues to pay for their Cadillac health insurance plans until they are old enough for Medicare. Also, PENSIONS are usually calculated on the highest three years of wages, and they load up on OVERTIME during those three years to make the PENSIONS outrageously generous. Their bosses go along with the massive overtime hours because they want to take advantage of the same thing when they retire. See, supervisors in the public sector get overtime pay just like their minions, unlike in the private sector.

As in many things, the only way the City can work its way out of this bullshit is to elect either a Republican mayor or a businessman who is not indebted to the unions for his election.

Good luck with that, once the unions have firmly entrenched the Democrats.

 

[Zincwarrior]

"On an annual basis, we are spending somewhere between $150 million and $200 million more than is coming in," City Controller Chris Hollins said.

Houston Controller projects over $230M budget shortfall next year​

in 2025?

 

[Weatherman2020]

in 2025?

$300M in Biden Bucks is going away.

Obviously Houston Democrats pissed their relief money away and are now facing the expenses.

California, NY, Chicago, all the same. Tax, spend, go broke.

 

[Zincwarrior]

$300M in Biden Bucks is going away.

Obviously Houston Democrats pissed their relief money away and are now facing the expenses.

California, NY, Chicago, all the same. Tax, spend, go broke.

You are welcome not to live here.

https://www.houstontx.gov/budget/mfr/fy24/jan/fr.pdf