Nassau County as Cautionary Tale

When I moved back to Long Island from NYC a couple of years back I knew exactly what I was getting into: Commuting on the LIRR trains, that lawn guyland accent ringing in my ears all day and being so far away from all those Broadway shows I used to go to (just kidding, I’d rather have my skin peeled off than sit through a musical).

Anyway, my county is and has always been one of the ten wealthiest but one of the most heavily taxed in the entire country.  No matter how much we pay in taxes, it never seems to be quite enough to satiate The Beast.  Well now The Beast may have finally gorged itself unto death…

From the New York Times:

A state oversight board on Wednesday seized control of Nassau County’s finances, saying the county, one of the nation’s wealthiest and most heavily taxed, had nonetheless failed to balance its $2.7 billion budget.

Many hard-hit local governments have flirted with insolvency because of revenue shortfalls caused by the recession, but the financial problems of Nassau, on Long Island, owed more to a failure by county officials to face up to tough economic reality responsibly and quickly enough, according to the state board.

“The county’s 2011 budget is built on a foundation of sand,” a board member, George J. Marlin, said.

Salaries, entitlements, building, loopholes, comped health care, pensions, and on and on.  Couldn’t have happened to a bigger bunch of sloppy pigs.  Chris Christie, can you come in to consult for your sister suburban sprawl?

Source:

New York State Seizes Finances of Nassau County (NYT)