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American cities continue to file for bankruptcy

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    A look at disturbing U.S. trend

  • Duration 3:11
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Good evening I'm Bret -- another California city is seeking bankruptcy protection.

San Bernardino makes three in less than a month and that state.

-- it is a part of a growing national slide toward municipal insolvency enveloping communities all over the nation.

Some really big areas including Chicago and Detroit are also said to be considering some kind of -- another city that could be on the list soon.

The place Vice President Biden calls home.

Tonight we're going to talk about the economics and the politics of American cities drowning in a sea of red ink.

First up chief Washington correspondent James -- Everything in -- in my life that I learned.

-- -- -- -- That is hometown of Scranton Pennsylvania is -- to the vice president's heart cannot obscure how dire the electric city's financial crisis it's.

I can't pay the -- I don't have Scranton mayor Christopher Doherty a Democrat and the Democrat controlled City Council cannot agree on how best to make up the sixteen point eight million in red -- the city faces.

Leading Doherty to slash the -- checks for all of the city's 400 public employees to the minimum wage level of seven dollars and 25 cents an hour.

My members are suffering here every data goes by is -- is another question mark for them and how they're gonna meet -- Financial obligations and pay their mortgage.

Britain's public sector unions have sued the -- for full -- and -- but Doherty told fox news' Martha -- the City Council has passed a budget without funding and many now see the city the -- largest in Pennsylvania and wants a powerhouse of coal and manufacturing activity hurtling toward bankruptcy we have been burdened with a lot of legacy costs and -- and the banks have said we -- know -- gonna pay us back with a population of 300000 the city of Stockton in northern California is the largest municipality ever to file for bankruptcy which it did on June 28 on Tuesday San Bernardino sixty miles east of Los Angeles and 46 million in the red.

Became the second biggest cities have faced tough times before as New Yorkers with memories of the seventies can attest.

But much has changed since then and many states like California have severely constrain what cities can even do to try to balance their books.

'cause of things like voter in the stands.

And limits on taxes.

It's really hard for cities to figure out how they're getting get new revenues if you have something.

Happen like what happened where house prices.

Sound developer if he -- have dried up and they're stuck with pretty strong.

Union contracts that they need to somehow renegotiate.

What impact the city's plight could have on presidential politics if any appeared a subjective judgment when you lump together this situation cities and states are facing -- it just sounds like the kind of fiscal -- -- that we're seeing from this president's as a general issue.

I think these problems with budget crises side hurt the president and Democrats quite frankly.

More than -- do Republicans not all cities are allowed to declare bankruptcy Harrisburg PA filed petition last year.

But it was rejected by a special state court because the city did not need all of the requirements for bankruptcy protection -- James thanks.

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