Say goodbye to good credit Kansas City . . . TKC reported about the muni-bond crunch awhile ago but now things are getting worse.
The current global recession was caused by the credit crisis and sadly KC is thinking of overextending itself once again.
The following Internet e-mail is circulating like wildfire, KC news watchers will see it In The Star sometime later:
Already there has been news of a "negative outlook" for Kansas City muni bonds.
BUT WORD IS, IF THIS TOWN TAKES ON A MASSIVE DEBT FOR LIGHT RAIL THEN KC MUNI BONDS ARE DEFINITELY GETTING DOWNGRADED!!!
A brief explanation:
When Wall Street first tanked the muni-bond market froze up. KC wants to be like Portland but even that City had a hard time pushing its bonds in light of the credit crunch:
The Port of Portland is also playing the waiting game. It had hoped to borrow $140 million this month to build a second parking garage at the airport, a runway extension, a deicing system and part of a new headquarters building.Luckily, for Portland, the demand just might come because people are being encouraged to put more money in muni bonds given the bearish stock market.
It has since delayed the offering in hopes of more demand and lower rates.
BUT MORE INVESTORS WILL TRANSLATE INTO MORE COMPETITION AND SCRUTINY OF KANSAS CITY'S CRAPPY CREDIT!!!
In other words . . . It's a buyer's market and this town taking on even more debt to pay for light rail is going to be the last straw that gets Kansas City Bonds downgraded.
That's important because a muni bond downgrade makes ALL SUBSEQUENT DEVELOPMENT MORE EXPENSIVE!!!
Folks who think that this town will finally repair sewers AFTER light rail is pushed through might want to think again because when KC Bonds are downgraded after light rail passes, borrowing money will be nearly impossible. Without question:
MAYOR FUNKY IS MAKING KANSAS CITY CHOOSE BETWEEN LIGHT RAIL AND WATER INFRASTRUCTURE REPAIR!!!
I only hope Kansas City has the common sense to vote down the EXPENSIVE PROPOSAL THAT IS POISED TO (FURTHER) RUIN THIS TOWN'S CREDIT rather than simply opting to play with a toy train set.