America’s $288 Billion City Debt Crisis
Broke Cities: How Accounting Tricks Hid a Municipal Finance Armageddon
It’s a scene playing out in city halls across the United States — leaders gathering to confront a $288 billion black hole of debt threatening to bankrupt dozens of the nation’s largest municipalities. The mood is grim as the true scale of the crisis is laid bare.
“We’re broke,” one official states bluntly, giving voice to the harsh reality American cities now face.
A damning study by Truth in Accounting revealed that over two-thirds of major U.S. cities simply “don’t have enough revenue to cover their bills.” From iconic metropolises like New York and Chicago, to up-and-coming hubs in the South and West, a slow-motion financial implosion is underway that strikes at the heart of urban America.
So how did these once-booming economic engines of the nation descend into insolvency? And more critically, can they be rescued from the brink of complete fiscal ruin before it’s too late? This investigation follows the money trail — and uncovers a catastrophic mess decades in the making.
