> There are plenty of municipal entities who can't afford to meet various minimum legal requirements. Many people are saying this. I'd be interested to know h

> There are plenty of municipal entities who can't afford to meet various minimum legal requirements. Many people are saying this. I'd be interested to know how cities get into situations where they stop complying with legal requirements, and what consequences they face, if you have some examples. > Furthermore, it's not always clear what severity is attached to various compliance requirements. I don't think a city should be deciding which laws to follow based on how big the punishment is for not complying. If it is ever economically rational to pay a fine rather than obey the law, then the fine needs to be higher, and if it is ever unclear what the punishment is for breaking a law, then the law needs to be made clearer. Again, if you have an example of a city mistakenly believing that the penalty for non-compliance with a legal requirement was smaller than it actually was, I'd be interested to know. > Bankruptcy can cancel debt, but it can't create new funding. You're absolutely right. I think I was assuming that bankruptcy would automatically trigger a process of the state taking control of the city, which is sort of what happens in Michigan[0]. In some cases, a city can also be dissolved.[1] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_emergency_in_Michigan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_emergency_in_Michiga... [1] https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/what-happens-if-your-city-goes-broke-files-bankruptcy https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/what-happens-if-your-ci...