One small county in California is $2.6 billion in debt due to huge government employee retirement payouts

Mick Gregory

The California meltdown caused by the historic housing bubble burst that led to tens of thousands of foreclosures and dramatic dip in real estate tax collections has some other issues coming to the table. Contra Costa County, and affluent suburban Bay Area commuter area is deep in debt, on a scale of some countries.
CC County Supervisors took a first look today at the county’s $2.6 billion projected debt for retiree health benefits and set the bar for a round of labor negotiations later this year, endorsing a pullback in benefits for about 1,100 nonunion employees and retirees.

Those employees, many of them middle managers, (in the real world these would be white collar exempt positions) attacked the supervisors for, among other steps, seeking to cap the county’s health care subsidy beginning in 2010. What kind of plan is so expensive? How about retire at full pay after 20 years plus free HMO coverage. That is what government employee unions have done to the California dream.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, foreclosure filings jumped 57% in March compared with the same month last year and rose 5% versus February, as the nation’s housing market continues to deteriorate.

California Housing Nightmare: The Bubble Burst — 200,000 Homes Taken Back

Mick Gregory

With the wildfires under control, and the $250,000 rewards posted for the arsonists, we can calm down and look at another problem that is 10 times worse. The housing bubble has burst. There may be 200,000 homes foreclosed on this year in California. What about next year,300,000 in California alone?

There were some 1,500 homes destroyed in the SoCal fires, virtually all had fire insurance, plus, the land is not destroyed. But with a foreclosure, it’s all gone, and the one who loses his home, still owes the property taxes.

Wanna buy some prime California real estate?