A spate of defaults has occurred in municipalities all over the country
The city of San Bernardino, California, declared bankruptcy on July 10, following similar moves in the past month by Mammoth Lakes and Stockton, also in California.
A fourth city, Compton, on the outskirts of Los Angeles, could be the next city to turn to bankruptcy protection.
City officials announced earlier this month that Compton could run out of money by summer's end, with $3 million in the bank and more than $5 million in bills due, reported the Los Angeles Times.
Before them it was Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Jefferson County, Alabama, and Central Falls, Rhode Island - the list continues.
San Bernardino has burned through its reserves and is out of other ways to pay for its longstanding deficit spending. It faces a deficit of nearly $46 million.
