Incomplete (i-e ‘Tip of the Iceberg’) list of U.S. Federal/State/Local Government self-destruct announcements for December 2017:

New York Magazine: How Wealthy People Use the Government to Enrich Themselves

Washington Post: How to score big at government auctions

NPR: States Say They Need Federal Government’s Help To Secure Midterm Elections

Associated Press: Global Cooling Requires More Government Money

According to CNBC there are only 13 U.S. cities where you can actually survive on government mandated minimum wage, barely.

Arizona: In Tucson, after 30 years Las Margaritas shutdown the day before Xmas, due to the owner selling off the property because the city is planning a road project that will impact the property.

California: The Los Angeles Times reports that Santa can’t fix these problems with California’s state government.  Taxpayers in Redwood City will be paying for a new home for the YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) as city leaders will let the religious organization use a new city funded building complex, as part of some plan to create ‘green spaces’ in the city.

Colorado:  It’s been revealed that state legislators have forgotten a very important part of the taxpayer funded budget for 2018, according to the gov’na there’s not one cent from General Funds allocated for the most obvious of infrustructures; roads and bridges! 

Connecticut: The city of New London has criminally charged its first victim of its new expanded blight laws, for having a huge bamboo grove on his property.   Despite cash strapped voters rejecting three previous city budgets due to jacked-up taxes, the city of Morris is submitting a fourth budget which again includes tax increases, to be voted on in January 2018.

Florida:  Now former congresswoman Democrat Corrine Brown to spend five years in federal prison for helping to raise more than $800-thousand USD for a bogus charity that she used as her personal account.  Manatee County warning that within three years 5-hundred of its employees will be retiring, creating a burden on the county’s retirement funds. Mmmmm, what happened to those retirement funds? County officials are also launching a scare campaign telling local taxpayers they can’t find enough potential employees to replace those who are retiring.

Georgia:  Cash strapped voters in the city of Roswell are so upset with their city’s secretive budget process that city leaders promise to hold two classes openly explaining the budget, in 2018.

Idaho:    In the town of Heyburn two candidates tied in the November elections, by state law a coin toss was held to decide the outcome, however, the loser of the coin toss demanded a hand recount of the votes and low-and-behold that candidate had actually won the election by one vote!  Turns out the one ballot that decided the election was marked so lightly that the machine, which did the original count, couldn’t read it.     The gov’na of The Gem State Butch Otter, released emails criticizing his appointment to fill vacant spots in the state House.  The emails from taxpayers claim the process used by the gov’na violates state law and Idaho Republican Party rules.  Gov’na Otter said he made the appointments to meet the statutory deadline of December 30.

Illinois: State lottery computer services company GTECH-Northstar Lottery Group eliminating 61 jobs in January 2018, due to loss of contract.   A tow truck driver for the city of Chicago sentenced to nine years in prison for offering to illegally release impounded vehicles in exchange for bribes, his wife got 24 months probation for her role in the scam.   Evil government identification computer systems designer France owned-U.S. taxpayer funded MorphoTrust USA (OT-Morpho) issued a shutdown WARN for its Springfield location, 74 jobs gone in February 2018.  Once again, Illinois set another record for the most residents fleeing any U.S. state; 33-thousand-7-hundred people fled for their economic lives from July 2016 to July 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau!  Analysts say it’s only getting worse: “It’s not just a one-year blip. And the declines continue to get bigger from one year to the next.”-William Frey, Brookings Institution

Iowa: DuPont Pioneer suddenly laid off an undisclosed number of employees, as a result of the DuPont-Dow Chemical merger.  Local news media reminded taxpayers that state leaders gave DuPont a $17-million USD as an incentive to maintain 2-thousand-6-hundred jobs in the state.  Taxpayers are now burdened by state and local government debts totaling $15.9-billion USD!   And that’s considered among the lowest debt levels (versus GDP) of any U.S. state!   The state Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship began a taxpayer funded three years program to subsidize the increased use of ‘cover crops’ and improve water quality: “There is no other incentive like this in the entire country, so we’re really happy that the state of Iowa is breaking ground on this new incentive.”-Aaron Lehman, Iowa Farmers Union

Michigan:  Vice News reports Detroit’s housing crisis is the work of its own government.  The city of Flint is once again in ‘hot water’ due to accusations of failing to comply with a settlement which required the city to replace contaminated water lines within three years. 

Minnesota: Without warning McNally Smith College of Music shutdown one week before Xmas, due to massive Disappearing Students Syndrome.  State education administrators say they’ll help the 4-hundred affected students, meaning taxpayers are being stuck with dealing with the non-profit’s shutdown.  MinnPost reminding you of The 5 most important local government stories of 2017 that you probably already forgot.

Mississippi: The city of Meridian is challenging Lauderdale County’s 9-1-1 service charges, in one case there is evidence of multiple billings for a single ambulance call.

Missouri: King Cash Saver shutdown its Mount Vernon grocery store saying that despite a decent volume of sales it’s not enough to keep up with the cost of the city supplied utilities, which is as much as 40% higher than other areas of the state (city officials swore to local news media that their utility rate was “competitive”).   Despite violent crime for the entire U.S. being at a 30 years low, Kansas City experienced an explosion of violence in 2017 making it one of the most murderous cities.  One report says at least 207 people were killed.  

Montana: Orwellian sounding national mentoring program Big Brothers Big Sisters warning of shutdown in Helena due to state taxpayer funding cuts and dwindling donations.  Federal taxpayer funding has already been cut.   The state government says the 2018 budget is smaller due to crashing tax revenues.

New York:  Mark’s Pizzeria announced the shutdown of dozens of restaurants across The Empire State, due to the new state mandated minimum wage which affects any restaurant chain with 30 or more locations!   ReEnergy wood-chip fired power plant in Lyonsdale shutting down due to the expiration of its contract with New York State Energy and Research Development Authority.  More proof that relying on federal tax money will doom local governments to failure; the city of Newburgh warning that as many as 70 firefighters could become unemployed in 2018 due to the expiration of a federal grant.  A New York Times investigation revealed that the NYC subway project is now The Most Expensive Mile of Subway Track on Earth.  Investigators found multiple reasons for taxpayer screwing cost overruns as far back as 2010, yet only now are they being revealed.  Some of those cost overruns are unexplained, like two hundred more employees than were supposed to officially be on the payroll who were being paid outrageous wages: “Nobody knew what those people were doing, if they were doing anything. All we knew is they were each being paid about $1,000 every day.”-Michael Horodniceanu, formerly with Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Ohio: Licking County Transit Operation eliminating 48 jobs in January 2018, due to the cancellation of a contract.

Pennsylvania:  After 199 years of producing food, and surviving numerous recessions and The Great Depression, the Stewart family farm could be shutdown because of a multi-state electricity power line project!

Texas:  A federal judge is allowing the city of Houston to begin its new anti-homeless police state-ism law.  The city created the law in April, which was challenged by the ACLU.  The federal judge threw out the ACLU’s temporary restraining order against the city.  Yeah, fight homelessness not by creating good paying jobs, but by criminalizing homelessness.  After ten years Austin’s Flying Saucer Draught Emporium shutdown, the owner blames ‘elected’ lawmakers saying “The landscape of the restaurant industry is changing rapidly across the nation, and unfortunately, the Texas beer industry was introduced to topsy-turvy legislation…” 

Washington DC: The Chicago Tribune reports Trump administration rescinding fracking rules on government land.  The Wall Street Journal discovered that about 40% of comments about Net Neutrality posted on the Federal Communications Commission’s website, as well as comments posted on other government websites, were fake!

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

Government Shenanigans, November 2017:“THE PEOPLE…WILL NEVER, NEVER FIND A BETTER JOB…”

ObamaCare ACA Death Spiral, December 2017:“THE REALITY OF OUR INDUSTRY’S ECONOMICS: FLAT OR DECLINING GOVERNMENT REIMBURSEMENT RATES COUPLED WITH RISING COSTS.”

Dumbing Down the U.S. of A., December 2017:“GRADUATION WAS TODAY. DOORS ARE CLOSING. LOCKS HAVE BEEN CHANGED.”