Posted on 10/24/2011 1:41:09 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
While the federal government grapples with its own enormous deficit, individual states are also facing huge deficits that total an astounding combined $4 trillion.
That figure comes from the newly-released annual report on state debt from State Budget Solutions, a nonprofit think tank that cuts through state government accounting tricks to find the true extent of their deficit burdens.
For their figures, SBS combined states' outstanding debt and their current year budget shortfalls, and then factored in the projected costs of other liabilities, including pension and retirement costs, that have yet to be paid for.
On the high end, SBS projected that California is facing a deficit in excess of $600 billion. By contrast, Vermont is stuck with a deficit of just $6 billion.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
View the data for all the states ( yes, yours included) on this link :
Food for thought if one thinks a balanced budget amendment is cure all for the federal debt problem - look how it has failed in california with liberals running the state. Just pass liar budgets based on fake economic estimates and you can spend yourself into oblivion.
A Constitutional prohibition on borrowing, either with lines of credit or any kind of debt instrument, e.g., bonds, etc., is one important part of keeping a government from spending more than it receives in taxes.
Which is why you’ll almost never hear mention of it, and if you mention it, anyone with any interest in the government spending more than it takes in will brand you as a “crazy person”.
Great info, thanks for posting that link.
Gonzo, you’re dead on. Someone said years ago the three scariest words in Illinois politics were Governor. Pat. Quinn.
If I could have one amendment, it would be repeal of the 17th Amendment. No one could cheat on that.
Third worst is Texas? TEXAS? Certainly not Rick Perry’s Texas!
Excerpted from the article:
1. California
2. New York
3. Texas
4. New Jersey
5. Illinois
6. Ohio
7. Pennsylvania
8. Florida
9. Michigan
10. Connecticut
Illinois is #5!! Woohoo!
10 bucks says we’ll overtake Texas and Jersey in no time.
With the exception of Texas, and possibly Florida, they are all liberal hell holes.
I don’t trust individual states or the fed’s to not cook the books. They can say we’re in the red in order to raise taxes and grab more power while keeping the real account balance hidden.
Kind of a dumb article.
The states with the largest debts correspond REMARKABLY closely to the states with the largest populations. Well, duuh.
Population / Debt
1 CA / CA
2 TX / NY
3 NY / TX
4 FL / NJ
5 IL / IL
6 PA / OH
7 OH / PA
8 MI / FL
9 NJ / MI
10 GA / CT
Wouldn’t you expect larger states to have larger debts? Does this surprise anyone? These states also have larger numbers of crimes, and a greater number of traffic accidents. What a shock!
Statistics that might actually mean something would be per capita debt, and debt as a percentage of the Gross State Product, or whatever you would call the equivalent of the GNP.
There you go, trying to be logical again.
Must be from paying for education, medical care, etc. for all the illegals there.
Good observations, SL.
btw... Your user name has always reminded me of the old comic strip “Sherman’s Lagoon”. lol
Username is an obscure literary reference, but not that one.
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