Sale-Leaseback is a tax shell game engaged in by about 60 transit agencies in the US; however, the fine print is now coming back to haunt these agencies, as the collapse of certain insurers, including AIG, is causing loan payback demands. Needless to say, they don't have the money sitting around for that.

PBS has a well-produced segment that explains the shady accounting and the dilemma. They include a nice interview with Sen Grassley (IA), where he tells the transit agencies "hard cheese". Ouch.