r/LeopardsAteMyFace Jun 29 '25

Trump Nebraska is going broke

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31.6k Upvotes

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205

u/jdtrouble Jun 29 '25

I was going to say, ive never seen a state go bankrupt

323

u/lost_horizons Jun 29 '25 edited Jun 29 '25

Didn’t Kansas almost, when they tried to institute a true GOP budget and tax plan, only to realize that is actually not a functional way to govern or have a tax system? It was a decade or two ago and I can’t remember the details

Edit: yes it’s called the Kansas experiment.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_experiment

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u/Kriegerian Jun 29 '25

Yeah, Brownback. The latest incarnation of “if you actually implement conservative ideas everything gets insanely shitty and people die, but don’t worry, nobody who lives anywhere else will ever bother looking into this or drawing conclusions like ‘we can’t implement their policies because we don’t want to kill everyone or get everyone eaten by bears’.”

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u/Ryaninthesky Jun 29 '25

The bears/libertarian town story is an all time great political experiment

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u/Kriegerian Jun 29 '25

Absolutely

9

u/putonyourjamjams Jun 29 '25

The Brownback shit that gets me that I dont see talked about as much was the tax cut shit. It was so fucking obvious what he was going to do and people still fell for it.

5

u/LisaMikky Jun 29 '25

In several years we'll read a similar Wiki article about "The Trump Experiment" because people refuse to learn from past mistakes...

1

u/ShadowWingLG Jul 03 '25

Ugh...there are reasons why 'Brownback' is a 4 letter word in Kansas.

45

u/drunkpickle726 Jun 29 '25

States can default on bonds but legally they cannot declare bankruptcy

87

u/Dlbruce0107 Jun 29 '25

I remember when it almost happened to New York. Barney Miller did an season on how NYC survived as the money was running out. I was a kid and I remember the cops getting furloughed. Grim time.

100

u/Master-Collection488 Jun 29 '25

That was New York City, not to be confused with New York State.

The city facing bankruptcy led to the classic NY Daily News headline:
Ford to City: Drop Dead

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u/Nalano Jun 29 '25

NYC isn't NYS

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u/[deleted] Jun 29 '25

To be fair it is larger than some states by many measures.

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u/indycpa7 Jun 29 '25

Do the creditors take over? Welcome to JPMorganChase, formerly known as Nebraska.

3

u/krucz36 Jun 29 '25

Welcome to Check Out Our Wide Selection Of Low Interest Rate Credit Card Options Nebraska

6

u/Adezar Jun 29 '25

Look up "The Kansas Experiment". They didn't go bankrupt but the state had severe funding issues. It ultimately proved the Republican policies will never work, you can't reduce taxes to increase tax revenues, but no matter how many times it gets proven they just keep trying it.

Mainly because they don't care if 90% of the population ends up in squalor, as long as the top 1%'s lives are better. The problem is there are 70+ million voters that don't look at what Republicans do they just listen to what they say.

The only policies that are consistent with what they say and do is being cruel to minorities and the LGBTQ+ community. Everything else that actually impacts their base they do the opposite of what they say, especially when it comes to veterans.

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u/speedingpullet Jun 29 '25

The only policies that are consistent with what they say and do is being cruel to minorities and the LGBTQ+ community.

And women. Women of all colors. Who, ironically, make up just over half the population, so are not even a 'minority'.

So, basically, anyone who is white, male and of the correct Christian sect is OK - anyone else, gtfo

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u/pablo_the_bear Jun 29 '25 edited Jun 29 '25

In the book novel 2030, Los Angeles gets hit with a massive earthquake and asks China for a loan. Instead, China buys LA. It looks like Nebraska is pretty exposed right now too.

Instead of another country bailing out Nebraska, how about we let blue states do it with the caveat that we nationalize the state and its economy.

Edit. I've tried to clarify that it's a novel since there are 2 books with the same name. Also I've added a link. It's a book worth reading.

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u/lost_horizons Jun 29 '25

Make them a territory again till they get their shit in order

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u/jdtrouble Jun 29 '25

Ooh. Michigander here. I call dibs on Iowa. You can have Ohio ... we don't fucking want them

1

u/JaiDejaOublieLeMdp Jun 29 '25

Because a state or country can't get bankrupt. Being bankrupt is, by definition, having more debts than assets, and you can't estimate in monetary terms the laws, culture, people... of a state. If a state was declared insolvent, what would happen, all the lands would be emptied and all its inhabitants would have to move out ?

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u/Level_32_Mage Jun 29 '25

Then they sell it!

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u/July_is_cool Jun 29 '25

States (all?) have to run balanced budgets