RENEE MONTAGNE, Host: NPR's business news starts with local government going belly up.</s>RENEE MONTAGNE, Host: Yesterday, the city of 19,000 filed for bankruptcy, the fifth municipality to do so this year, according to Bloomberg News.
The federal government looks like it will avoid defaulting on its debt. Not so for the city of Central Falls, R.I. The government there could not work out its financial troubles, including the inability to pay pension benefits owed to its firefighters and police officers. On Monday, the city of 19,000 filed for bankruptcy — the fifth municipality to do so this year, according to Bloomberg News.