“The solution to this crisis is not to blow up attempts to provide people with retirement security, but to reform governance, by returning to local officials the responsibility of setting tax rates and raising the money to fund their promises.”
–Prop Zero blogger Joe Mathews. In addition to his wonky prescription – allow local officials to set tax rates that cover a city’s costs — Mathews says Stockton’s “weird” combination of municipal elements made it uniquely vulnerable.
“Stockton is a peculiar place, at once both inland and a port, both city and exurban community for people who work in Sacramento and the Bay Area. It’s a weird mix of different kinds of places, and there’s nothing quite like it.”
I never thought of Stockton that way. But of course it’s true.
“Stockton is a rare case, and probably will remain so,” Mathews goes on. ”That’s because it’s getting hit both by urban problems, by the economic problems of the Central Valley, and by the housing and foreclosure crisis of exurban communities.”
A city in three worlds. Hm.
