Another one bites the dust.

Not long after the City of Harrisbury’s bankruptcy in Pennsylvania, now there is another local government in America seeking protection from its creditors.

Finally, after many years of wrangling, Jefferson County of the State of Alabama is now officially bankrupted. Last week, the County filed the largest bankruptcy ever in America by a municipal government. This filing involved a bond issue of $3.1 billion that is more than twice the amount of which Orange Country of California had filed in the 90's.

The proceeds from the bond sale were spent on a new sewerage system. But borrowed money to finance expensive drain pipes were not the only liabilities that came with a variable rate bond issue. The County also got itself into the muddy water by entering an interest rate swap deal. The intention to protect itself from the fluctuation of borrowing costs on a large bond issue was a prudent one. But the outcome of the bet on interest rates had not been favorable to the County. In addition, there were many hikes on the County's sewerage rate in the past. Apparently, the extra revenue from the higher charges could not help the County's finances either.

Now while the courts in Alabama mete out measures to put the Jefferson County’s treasury in order, 750,000 County residents will be on the hook of paying more and more their good money to flush their toilets in the future.

With the way the economy is now in America, I do wonder which government or local district will be the next one in such an unenvious position. - Ayee

A Beloved Curmudgeon

Now we have all heard that the CBS’s long time reporter, Andy Rooney, had passed away four weeks after he retired from 60 minutes. We all know that Mr. Rooney closed the popular weekly news program with “A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney.” Occasionally, his candid comments on the show did get him in the hot water. Sometimes he did sound like a grumpy person who complained a lot. He could not understand why anyone would want his autograph either. He also did not cherish the idea of being bothered when out enjoying a meal at the restaurant. But most of his pet-peeves he shared on the air was insightful and thought provoking. Evidently, on the amount of letters he received from the veiwers, he did well to get the public’s attention to some ridiculous and wasteful things we do.

Five Sundays ago, he announced his retirement from 60 Minutes in an interview with Morley Safer. He told his long time friend and colleague how appreciative he was of the good life he lived and the many good friends he made. He loved his job at CBS. If he was given the opportunity, he would like to be that lovable curmudgeon all over again.

In his last “A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney,” appearance, it looked like this 92-year-old with bushy eye brows had a complete make-over. In a dark suit, Mr. Rooney looked wonderfully well and serene. And there were no rants in his gracious last words either!

Andy Rooney must have lived his life right. - Ayee

Occupy Wall Street

The 99% of our population does have a point. Today the rich are getting richer and the poor become poorer.

But I do not think capitalism was the culprit that put many of us out of works. It was the greed, corruption and easy money that made us lose our jobs, homes and hard earned savings.

Wall Street used to be a place where capital was raised to invest in business that creates jobs. Instead of creating more jobs, the thousands of business mergers and acquisitions that are taking place in the business world now have actually cause many jobs to disappear. In addition, thanks to the government’s low interest rate policy to combat inflation, we speculate on many convoluted financial products not many of us can understand. Even though it is already an old story, it is totally unthinkable to me that many bankers who got us into these financial mess still receiving bonuses.

In the meantime, nearly four years from the 2008 financial meltdown, it remains a challenge for many job seekers in their quest for a gainful employment. While there are millions of able and willing bodies between jobs, there are few privileged ones who are multi-jobbers. In the past we got hired on merits. Today, the mantra in one’s career is networking. We need to know the right people. - Ayee