his is the beginning of major problems for cities all over North America. It is part and parcel of the Formula of 2006.

U.S. Cities’ Woes to Worsen as Taxes Trail Pace of Recovery
By William Selway

Sept. 1 (Bloomberg) — U.S. city officials say they expect to face further financial strains because tax collections won’t recover until after the economy emerges from the deepest recession since the Great Depression, a national survey found.

Eighty-eight percent of city finance officers said they are less able to cover the cost of running their governments than a year ago, up from 64 percent a year earlier, according to a survey of 379 cities by the National League of Cities between April and June. It was the most negative assessment since the survey began in 1986. Eighty-nine percent said the next budget year would be even worse.

The survey points to increasing pressure on municipal officials even as the economy shows signs of recovering from the recession that began in December 2007. While property values have plunged since 2006, with home prices down 15.4 percent in June from the year before, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index, it can take years for that decline to be fully reflected in real-estate taxes. They provide about 32 percent of municipal revenue, according to the city group. Sales taxes can also drop until months after consumers start spending.

“Since city fiscal conditions tend to lag behind national economic conditions, the effects of a depressed real estate market, low levels of consumer confidence and high levels of unemployment will likely play out in cities well into future years,” according to the National League of Cities.

More…

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...id=ai724AYZvzsU

This might have a contributing effect:

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/metro.nr0.htm

METROPOLITAN AREA EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT: JULY 2009

Unemployment rates were higher in July than a year earlier in all
372 metropolitan areas, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S.
Department of Labor reported today. Nineteen areas recorded jobless
rates of at least 15.0 percent, while 11 areas registered rates below
5.0 percent. The national unemployment rate in July was 9.7 percent,
not seasonally adjusted, up from 6.0 percent a year earlier. Among
the 369 metropolitan areas for which nonfarm payroll data were avail-
able, 353 areas reported over-the-year decreases in nonfarm payroll
employment, 14 reported increases, and 2 had no change.

Metropolitan Area Unemployment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

In July, 139 metropolitan areas reported jobless rates of at least
10.0 percent, up from 14 areas a year earlier, while 65 areas posted
rates below 7.0 percent, down from 286 areas in July 2008. El Centro,
Calif., recorded the highest unemployment rate, 30.2 percent, followed
by Yuma, Ariz., 26.2 percent. In addition to being affected by the
economic downturn, these two adjacent areas are highly agricultural
and experience extreme weather during summer months. Among the 19
areas with jobless rates of at least 15.0 percent, 8 were located in
California and 5 were in Michigan. Bismarck, N.D., registered the
lowest jobless rate in July, 3.1 percent, followed by Fargo, N.D.-
Minn., and Rapid City, S.D., 4.2 percent each. Overall, 149 areas
posted unemployment rates above the U.S. figure of 9.7 percent, 219
areas reported rates below it, and 4 areas had the same rate. (See
table 1.)

For the seventh consecutive month, all 372 metropolitan areas had
over-the-year unemployment rate increases. The largest jobless rate
increase from July 2008 was reported in Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich.
(+8.4 percentage points), followed by Bend, Ore. (+7.1 points) and
Elkhart-Goshen, Ind. (+7.0 points). An additional 15 areas registered
unemployment rate increases of 6.0 percentage points or more, and
another 38 areas had rate increases of 5.0 to 5.9 points. Only two
areas had over-the-year increases of less than a full percentage
point--Bismarck, N.D. (+0.5 point) and Grand Forks, N.D.-Minn. (+0.8
point).

Of the 49 metropolitan areas with a Census 2000 population of 1
million or more, Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., reported the highest
unemployment rate in July, 17.7 percent. The large areas with the
next highest rates were Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif.,
14.3 percent; Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., 13.1 percent; Providence-Fall
River-Warwick, R.I.-Mass., 12.7 percent; and Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord,
N.C.-S.C., 12.4 percent. Fifteen additional large areas posted rates of
10.0 percent or more. The large areas with the lowest jobless rates
in July were Oklahoma City, Okla., 5.9 percent, and Washington-Arlington-
Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va., 6.2 percent. All 49 large areas regis-
tered over-the-year unemployment rate increases of at least 2.0 percent-
age points. Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., had the largest jobless rate
increase from a year earlier (+8.4 percentage points). The areas with
the next largest rate increases were Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev. (+6.2 per-
centage points); Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, Ore.-Wash. (+5.8 points);
and Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, N.C.-S.C. (+5.7 points). Three addi-
tional large areas recorded rate increases of 5.0 percentage points or
more.

Metropolitan Division Unemployment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

Eleven of the most populous metropolitan areas are composed of 34
metropolitan divisions, which are essentially separately identifiable
employment centers. In July, the two divisions that comprise the
Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., metropolitan area registered the high-
est jobless rates: Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, 19.0 percent, and Warren-
Troy-Farmington Hills, 16.8 percent. The division with the next highest
rate was Lawrence-Methuen-Salem, Mass.-N.H., 13.4 percent. Bethesda-
Frederick-Rockville, Md., reported the lowest unemployment rate among
the divisions, 5.7 percent, followed by Washington-Arlington-Alexandria,
D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va., 6.3 percent. (See table 2.)

In July, all 34 metropolitan divisions recorded over-the-year jobless
rate increases of at least 2.2 percentage points. Warren-Troy-Farmington
Hills, Mich., and Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich., experienced the larg-
est rate increases (+8.6 and +8.2 percentage points, respectively). Two
additional divisions reported over-the-year rate increases of 5.0 percent-
age points or more.

In 6 of the 11 metropolitan areas that contain divisions, the ranges
between the highest and lowest division jobless rates were 2.0 percent-
age points or more in July. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.-N.H., posted
the largest rate difference among its divisions, 6.2 percentage points
(Lawrence-Methuen-Salem, Mass.-N.H., 13.4 percent, compared with Framingham,
Mass., and Nashua, N.H.-Mass., 7.2 percent each).

Metropolitan Area Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

The largest over-the-year employment decrease was recorded in Los Angeles-
Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif. (-240,100), followed by Chicago-Naperville-Joliet,
Ill.-Ind.-Wis. (-206,200), New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-
N.J.-Pa. (-157,900), and Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz. (-143,100). The larg-
est over-the-year percentage decline in employment was reported in Lake Havasu
City-Kingman, Ariz. (-9.3 percent), followed by Prescott, Ariz. (-8.9 percent),
Reno-Sparks, Nev. (-8.4 percent), and Holland-Grand Haven, Mich. (-8.3 percent).
(See table 3.)

The largest over-the-year increases in employment occurred in McAllen-
Edinburg-Mission, Texas (+2,900), Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Wash. (+2,700),
El Paso, Texas (+2,400), and Hot Springs, Ark. (+1,200). The largest over-
the-year percentage gains in employment were reported in Hot Springs, Ark.
(+3.1 percent), Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Wash. (+2.8 percent), Sandusky,
Ohio (+2.4 percent), McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas (+1.4 percent), and
El Paso, Texas (+0.9 percent).

Over the year, nonfarm employment declined in all 38 metropolitan areas
with annual average employment levels above 750,000 in 2008. The largest
over-the-year percentage decreases in employment in these large metropolitan
areas were posted in Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz. (-7.8 percent), Detroit-
Warren-Livonia, Mich. (-7.5 percent), Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev. (-6.6 percent),
and Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, N.C.-S.C. (-6.2 percent).


The Regional and State Employment and Unemployment release for August
is scheduled to be issued on Friday, September 18. The Metropolitan Area
Employment and Unemployment release for August is scheduled to be issued
on Wednesday, September 30.

...so says the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

obviously we need a tax increase

you gotta be stupid not to want one