Sobering Statistics
On the Brink of Financial Collapse: 10 Cities in Serious Danger of Bankruptcy.
The study, called Financial State of the Cities 2023, was done by Truth in Accounting.
It has some difficult truths: 50 out of 75 cities could not pay their bills; the combined
debt for all 75 cities is $267 billion. Moreover, elected officials didn’t include the cost
of government in this figure, instead pushing it onto future taxpayers.
Cities that cannot pay their bills at the end of each fiscal year
are known as ‘sinkhole’ cities, while those that can are called ‘sunshine’ cities.
Each city receives grades between A and F — the lowest grade is F, which means
the tax burden per citizen exceeds $20,000. Here are the ten most fiscally troubled
sinkhole cities in serious danger of bankruptcy.
1. New York City – Grade: F
New York City has always been the financial beating heart of the U.S. economy.
Still, due to a backlog in unfunded retirement entitlements and a litany of bad
legislative decisions, New York has the highest tax burden of any state.
2. Chicago, Illinois – Grade: F
Chicago stands at being the second-most in-debt city in America.
The town faces incredible challenges with crime and now pension-based debt.
The city officials only set aside 25 cents on the dollar into promised pension
benefits in 2022.
3. Honolulu, Hawaii – Grade: F
The city would require $26,100 in tax recoupment from every state citizen,
surpassing the F-grade threshold of $20,000 per taxpayer.
Although its tax burden in 2020 was over half a billion more than now,
it still finished the fiscal year with a $3.3 billion deficit.
Honolulu sits third out of the 75 cities.
4. Portland, Oregon – Grade: F
With a higher debt of $5.2 billion, Portland wins an F for its fiscal health.
However, thanks to Portland’s larger population, its tax burden is lower than Honolulu’s. Despite a short-term boost to its pension assets’ valuation, Portland only put aside 44 cents on the dollar for promised pension benefits.
5. New Orleans, Louisiana – Grade: F
The Big Easy is 71st out of 75 cities in the study,
sitting within the dreaded F-zone for their fiscal report.
In the past, city officials have been guilty of underfunding pension entitlements
and reneging on retiree health care pledges. Moreover, the city is one of many
that submitted their fiscal report late, meaning poorer fiscal conduct worsened
their total debt.
6. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Grade: F
The post-pandemic landscape has looked better for Philly of late;
however, they still have an F for their almost $12 billion deficit.
However, Philadelphia is a large city, so to balance the books,
taxpayers would need to stump up $21,800 per person.
7. St. Louis, Missouri – Grade: D
The Gateway to the West has a much lower deficit than its predecessor
and drops into the D column, with a lower tax burden of $18,000. However,
things are not looking good with an unbudgeted $654.5 million in health
care retiree entitlements for city workers due.
8. Dallas, Texas – Grade: D
In 2022, dormant retirement obligations and negative market returns
affected Dallas’ fiscal health, leaving the city with $5.9 billion in debt.
This figure amounts to $14,700 needed for each taxpayer to help
Dallas’ monetary troubles.
9. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – Grade: D
Elected officials’ decisions have added to Pittsburgh’s woes, and the
city currently has an unpaid debt of $1.5 billion. Federal pandemic funding
ran dry during a bearish year for the markets. Subsequently, Pittsburgh’s
taxpayers would need to pay $14,600 each to save Steel City’s financial bacon.
10. Miami, Florida – Grade: D
Finally, Miami steals in for the tenth spot. The Magic City has almost $2 billion
of unfunded pension and healthcare benefits, with a $14,000 tax burden for its
employed residents. However, pension debt is decreasing. Curiously, the police
and firefighters’ pension plan investments reached almost 20% returns in 2021.
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America and Babylon:
Water in the tunnels of gaza strip – Search (bing.com)
To identify and answer the question is America Babylon, we must study Revelation 13.
Revelation 13 speaks of two beasts. The first ten verses of Revelation 13 describe the
first beast or the papacy in its rise to power (see Who is the Beast of Revelation 13).
The Papacy represents Babylon, Revelation 17 (see Can you identify the harlot …)
And the second beast of Revelation 13 represents the United States of America which
will play a role with Babylon in the end time events. “And I beheld another beast coming
up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he also spoke as a dragon” in
(Revelation 13:11).
There are several points in this Bible verse that help us see that
America is the second beast of Revelation 13 is, and these points are:
Point 1: Comes into existence around the time that the first beast receives its wound.
Point 2: Comes up out of the earth.
Point 3: Has two lamb-like horns.
Point 4: Speaks like a dragon.
Here is the Biblical explanation for these four points:
Point 1
The second beast comes into existence around the time that the first beast receives its wound. The papal captivity, mentioned in Revelation 13:10, took place in 1798, and the new power (verse 11) was seen emerging at that time.
The United States declared its independence in 1776, voted on the Constitution in 1787, adopted the Bill of Rights in 1791, and was clearly recognized as a world power by 1798. The timing clearly fits America.
Point 2
The second beast comes out of the earth. Knowing that water in Bible prophecy represents a densely populated area (Revelation 17:15), earth as opposed to water means a sparsely populated area. This new nation would arise in an area of the world that had been virtually unpopulated before the late 1700s. The United States of America arose in a “new land.”
Point 3
The second beast has two lamb-like horns. Horns represent kingdoms, governments (Daniel 7:24; 8:21), and powers (Habakkuk 3:4). Therefore, this nation has two separate powers and the two governing principles upon which the USA was founded which are: civil and religious liberty. Lamb-like horns means an innocent, non-oppressive, and spiritual nation. No other power on earth besides the USA could fit the characteristics and the time frame of the lamb-horned beast.
Point 4
The second beast will speak like a dragon. The ‘lamb-like horns’ and ‘dragon’s voice’
point to a contrast between the peaceful words and the actions of this nation.
The dragon is Satan:
who works through governments to crush God’s saints by persecution.
So “speaking as a dragon” means that the United States (under the influence of Satan)
will, in the end time, force people through legal actions to worship contrary to conscience
or be punished.
The First Beast (Papacy-Babylon) and Second Beast (America) Will Unite: Revelation 13:12 states: “And he (the second beast) exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.”
The book of Revelation predicts that the government of the United States of America will go against the Declaration of Independence and the rights defended by the Constitution concerning religious freedom, and be biased towards the papacy to promote religious intolerance of other beliefs, and persecute those who oppose it.
The United States will next lead the nations of the world to impose a universal death
sentence upon all who refuse to worship the beast or receive his image. “And cause that
as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed” (Revelation 13:15).
You can also check out: Revelation 13:16 says people will receive the mark of the beast in the forehead or in the hand. What does this mean?
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
Check out our Bible Answers page for more information on a variety of topics.
Babylon is an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Iraq. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-speaking region of Babylonia, with its rulers establishing two important empires in antiquity, namely the 18th century BC Old Babylonian Empire and the 7th–6th century BC Neo-Babylonian Empire, and the city would also be used as a regional capital of other empires, such as the Achaemenid Empire. Babylon was one of the most important urban centres of the ancient Near East until its decline during the Hellenistic period. Babylon in bible times map – Search (bing.com)
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