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Focusing on the 1970s fiscal crises in New York City and in Cleveland, Ohio, TIGHTEN YOUR BELTS, BITE THE BULLET looks at the root causes of fiscal crises in American cities, and the political responses to them.

In New York, the film traces the political and economic history leading to the default threat of the 1970s, and the creation of the Emergency Financial Control Board. It looks at what the effect of these developments were - cuts in city services with a devastating impact on city workers and residents.

The film contrasts New York's political response to the crisis with that of Cleveland, where then Mayor Dennis Kucinich, and his supporters, waged 'The Battle of Cleveland' over what they viewed as nothing less than control of the city itself.

Using animation, news footage, and exclusive interviews, TIGHTEN YOUR BELTS, BITE THE BULLET is an enlightening history of a difficult period in recent urban history.