Free Talk Live

COLORADO SPRINGS — This tax-averse city is about to learn what it looks and feels like when budget cuts slash services most Americans consider part of the urban fabric.

More than a third of the streetlights in Colorado Springs will go dark Monday. The police helicopters are for sale on the Internet. The city is dumping firefighting jobs, a vice team, burglary investigators, beat cops — dozens of police and fire positions will go unfilled.

The parks department removed trash cans last week, replacing them with signs urging users to pack out their own litter.

President Obama's fiscal 2011 budget will generate nearly $10 trillion in cumulative budget deficits over the next 10 years, $1.2 trillion more than the administration projected, and raise the federal debt to 90 percent of the nation's economic output by 2020, the Congressional Budget Office reported Thursday.

Things are getting so bad in Newark that the mayor has ordered the government to stop buying toilet paper.... The city budget shortfall is $70 million and (Mayor) Booker plans to meet the revenue shortfall with budget cuts instead of property tax increases. "Taxes can not be the answer," Booker said.

A budget battle in New Jersey's capital city has some extremely unpleasant fallout, including a toilet paper shortage at police headquarters, fire stations, senior centers and municipal offices. Supplies have been dwindling down to almost nothing in the months since a spending fight broke out among the City Council in November over a $42,000 spending request for a year's supply of paper products, including toilet paper. “I’m embarrassed,” the Council president said.

Government services will be cut at every level. Potholes will deepen, infra-structure problems will worsen, pension plans will become insolvent, school systems will declare bankruptcy, police and fire protection will be reduced, etc. etc. You will be "nickled and dimed" in terms of new fees and taxes. Public unions will strike, providing further disruption. But when there are no funds, there is nothing to gain.

The buses stop running at 6:15 p.m. now, and most streetlights stay dark throughout the night. Three city pools have shut down, and turf is withering in more than 100 parks. What's a city to do when its museums are struggling to stay open and there aren't enough police officers to investigate crimes? Colorado Springs residents have met their city's attempts to get by with less on their own terms. For some, there is anger and lost jobs. For others, there are weary shrugs and mild complaints.

MCLOUD, OK -- Several residents in McLoud are upset after the city announced a $17 water bill for residents who use a well. According to City Manager Larry Dillon, the small fee will help pay for emergency services such as police officers and fire fighters. Because of an old city ordinance, rural residents with in 100-yards of a water line didn't have to pay for those services; but because of a struggling economy, every dollar counts.

Occupy the Budget - City hall has been declared private property and any one on it is liable to be arrested for trespassing. Derek a Occupy Canada moderator was arrested earlier and will spend the night in custody. He also had his camera smashed. I am heading down there now and hope to see you coming out in support of our city if you can. I will update you when I get back - Thomas

Title says "Cash for Clunkers under budget with 690,000 sales" but one paragraph says "It proved far more popular than lawmakers originally thought. Congress added another $2 billion to the original $1 billion budget when the first pot of money nearly ran out in a week. The extra money was supposed to last through Labor Day, but the funding only lasted about a month."

In other words, it was over budget before it was under budget after they made the budget larger, and even then, it was canceled just enough earlier than planned to keep it from consuming even the second "budget."