This came in from Max Grossman:
Dear Friends,
As long as the media refuses to report this, I will keep repeating this information every few weeks.
On December 10, Moody’s Investment Service announced that in the event of a recession of similar severity to the 2008-09 downtown, El Paso will be one of four cities (including Detroit) in which “adjusted net pension liabilities will rise by more than 100% of revenue.”
Data-Z, a subsidiary of Truth in Accounting, whose mission is “to educate and empower citizens with understandable, reliable, and transparent government financial information,” claims that “El Paso is a Sinkhole City without enough assets to cover its debt.”
Just look at the Dow Jones Industrial Average today. At one point it sank to 20,387, down from the February 16 high of 29,569, a difference of 31%! The talk among the pundits is no longer about whether we are heading into a recession because of the world health crisis, but about how severe it will be.
QUESTION: What will our City do to avert the financial calamity which Moody’s, one of the top financial reporting firms in the world, has explicitly warned El Paso about?
I have stated it many times and will state it again. The City Manager, Mayor, and City Council Representatives have placed us on a financial path that could lead to disaster. Even as our homestead tax burden is second only to Detroit, and even as world markets are plunged into chaos, they still insist that our government should be in the entertainment business, providing us with stadiums and waterparks!
Max
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We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
To be clear, it was former city mayor and representatives that placed us on this path. John Cook, et al., put us in the “entertainment” business, but even they aren’t solely responsible for the insane amount of benefits the city hands out. The public school system is under the radar on this issue but the situation is heading in the same direction.
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“Never have so many been responsible to so few for doing so little”
Taxpayer lament
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Everyone’s hands are dirty with the cost overruns on our Quality of Life projects. And let’s not forget Mayor “never met a CO he didn’t like” Margo.
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The City has lots of assets. The Public Service Board owns lots of land. I don’t know if Moody’s took those assets into account, because most American cities don’t own a lot of land.
Of course, dumping a lot of land on the market at once will only decrease its value, but maybe that’s part of the scheme.
It looks like the City is squandering our kids’ inheritance for the benefit of a few real estate speculators.
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There will be a fire sale of the land, thousands of acres, to the Usual Suspects who will end up owning even more of our Commons than they do now. It’s called Disaster Capitalism.
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The population in El Paso can rid themselves of the usual suspects whenever they want. The people need to dive deep into politics and get out and vote. Like Carmen Rodriguez said in her essay in Who rules El Paso? citizens need to remain vigilant (thank you Mr. Grossman and many others) address the threat of hyper capitalism, urban sprawl, overtaxation etc. and take our city back. Which means getting out to vote. Hopefully soon we can vote using our phones which I have read is not far away. The people that have created uncertainty and tremendous debt in our city need to be held accountable and the time is now.
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sounds more like a communist manifesto than a solution. dungan will love it
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Actually, I do agree with it, but I fail to see anything remotely communistic about it. You really need to inform yourself, because the empty spots in your education are showing.
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Unn be mjj54immkk8i
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huh?
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Thank you, Brutus, for sharing my post. You and Rich have long been my favorite local bloggers and have always provided us with quality, fact-based information, which is why I share so many of your posts. FYI, I just started a Facebook page called “El Paso Porkfest,” which is a forum for local issues and civil discussion, with a dose of outrageous satire.
Stay safe, Max
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Meanwhile, the Hunt Foster Margo vampire squid is on the prowl for more.
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How much of taxpayer money has been spent in legal fees due to Mr. Grossman? I personally oppose the arena as we have too many venues with not enough acts coming in.
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I would be glad to answer that, Sir. The City has spent $3 million fighting me, and the delay has depreciated the value of the money earmarked for the “Arena” by millions more. But I have saved El Paso taxpayers will over a half billion dollars by not permitting the City to proceed.
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