A federal judge has ruled that Stockton, California, may enter into bankruptcy proceedings. That opens the way for Stockton to become America's largest bankrupt city. The population there is 300,000, bigger than Cincinnati, Newark, New Jersey or St. Paul, Minnesota. NPR's Richard Gonzalez reports that others cities share Stockton's problems.
According to Michael Sweet, "this is a big issue, not just in Stockton, but in San Bernardino, which filed bankruptcy in southern California a couple of weeks after Stockton, and it's a big deal in other places like Detroit where everyone is watching to see what this judge says about how the federal bankruptcy law addresses a city pension obligation."
Previously published on NPR's Morning Edition
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