Second most dangerous city lays off half of its cops

Effective yesterday, the city of Camden, New Jersey, laid off half of its police force and about one-third of its firefighters.

This is the same Camden that was ranked as the second most dangerous city in the U.S. by CQ Press, based on 2009 data.

It had been ranked first on that list for the previous two years.

With half of its police force gone, will Camden return to the number-one spot?

And why did this have to happen?

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, it's because "[t]he city is struggling with a $26.5 million budget gap, the result of a long decline in Camden's property tax base and Gov. Christie's decision to cut state aid, which made up more than 80 percent of Camden's budget last year."

That is the same Gov. Christie - a Republican - who gave huge tax breaks to New Jerseyans making more than $400,000 per year.

In Christie's world, apparently, it's only important to keep the wealthy constituents rich and happy.

The less fortunate residents of Camden will just have to fend for themselves, deal with the city's high crime rate themselves, and put out their own fires.