Past Daily

Cities in default was an issue in the 70′s too.

Click on the link:NPR – Options – Cities In Default -1975

With the latest reports of several towns in California filing for bankruptcy, and the growing problem of cities in default nationwide, I was reminded of the last time such a wave occurred. The 1970′s were a particularly harrowing period for the American city. Most famously was the economic crisis that faced New York City. But there were others, maybe not as headline-grabbing, but still as, if not more, dire. Cleveland was one, Denver was another. San Francisco – and the list went on.

Here is a documentary, produced as part of National Public Radio’s Options series, from September 30, 1975. It’s an attempt to cover what was a growing problem at the time. One which, by all accounts, appears to have come back to haunt, as most things that get swept under the carpet and ignored for a while so often do.

I guess you could call it the “band-aid over the severed limb” analogy.

We never really got around to fixing the problem. And we probably won’t this time either.

~ by gordonskene on July 13, 2012.

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Tags: 1970's, 1975, bankruptcy, Capitol Hill, cities, default, economy, eyewitness, Jobs, New York City, NPR, Options, Poverty, Poverty programs, Radio, radio documentary, work, workforce