PolicyMic Produced this Chart of State Fiscal Conditions based on the working paper.
Highlights and Lowlights
Let's return to the original working paper for some highlights and lowlights.
Posted on 01/20/2014 12:40:32 PM PST by Kaslin
Inquiring minds are digging into a George Washington University paper on State Fiscal Conditions, a ranking of 50 states, by Sarah Arnett.
PolicyMic Produced this Chart of State Fiscal Conditions based on the working paper.
Highlights and Lowlights
Let's return to the original working paper for some highlights and lowlights.
At the bottom of the rankings are New Jersey and Illinois. New Jersey faces long-run solvency problems due in part to nearly 15 years of underfunding its state and local pensions. It has an estimated unfunded pension liability of around $25.6 billion as well as $59.3 billion in unfunded liabilities for the health benefits of retired teachers, police, firefighters, and other government workers (State Budget Crisis Task Force 2012).
Illinois has also underfunded its public pensions, resulting in an estimated state retirement system combined unfunded liability of $ 96.8 billion as of 2012 (Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability 22 2013). To cover the costs of its pension obligations, Illinois has also sold bonds to cover its annual contributions — 60 percent of Illinois’ total outstanding debt is in pension bonds (State Budget Crisis Task Force 2012). In essence, Illinois is using long-term debt instruments to meet current year pension obligations.
[In Contrast] Nebraska is constitutionally prohibited from incurring debt. As such, the long-term liabilities reflected in Nebraska’s long-run solvency score are mainly due to claims payable for worker’s compensation, Medicaid claims, and other employee-related items. With no significant bond debt, Nebraska has a much lower long-term liability per capita and a much lower long-term liability ratio than most other states.
Bottom 5 in Long-Term Solvency
In terms of long-term solvency (the most critical issue), New Jersey and Illinois are at the bottom of the heap. Pension plans and union activism are to blame.
All five states at the bottom of the list have one thing in common: they got that way via "progressive" extreme-liberal politics, fueled by union activism, and promises that cannot possibly be met.
Compare to the top five.
Top 5 in Long-Term Solvency
The top five states all have something in common as well: none of them are the hotbed of "progressive" activism and unions.
Although there are other issues, I strongly suggest the performance of the top five and bottom five is directly related to "progressive" politics.
Here in NY state, its highly ironic that the entire “state of the state,” one-party government and progressive/Democrat party all rely on one thing - the condition of Wall Street and Federal Reserve money-printing.
A swoon on Wall Street similar to 2008 that doesn’t get papered over by the Fed and the US Treasury will absolutely destroy NY State and its finances - and will destroy progressivism here forever.
All 50 states are pretty bad. Besides the federal government is such a mess that it really does not matter what happens to the states because they may even have to fund the federal government someday. Yes we are in that much of a mess.
The top five also have in common the fact that their entire populations might almost fill the stadium for a Super Bowl. Just saying.... / sarcasm
Forced population density causes insanity. Experiments with rats subjected to overcrowding, even with all the food they could eat, showed that the rats suffered from radical increases in violence and other behavior problems. Human overcrowding causes stress and leads to mental instability. It also leads to entrenched power structures that let a few elites control the masses through application of the massive leverage of control of government infrastructure.
The bottom line is that if you force people to live at high population densities, they inevitably go nuts and become socialist ants.
Because Cal, NY, and Ill are the bedrock of Democrat electoral vote strategy, those will be the states to get the bailout of federal guaranteed state bonds.
Not that the fedgov isn’t broke itself, but it will delay the reckoning some.
No one is forcing anyone to live somewhere they don’t wish to live. So I reject that premise. However the rest of what you said seems reasonable.
I think you’re correct about NY, even though it is not mentioned in the title, New Jersey is
When Mario Cuomo was governor he hid the shortfalls by investing pension plan money in New York State bonds. When this bill comes due there will be a wreck like Casey Jones
FL is #6 yay. That’s good news.
That said turn it back around
Lard boy is can’t keep NJ from coming in #50. Shocking.
CT, IL, MA, and CA round out the bottom 5. Also shocking.
Top 15 all GOP dominated except for rat Governors in MO and MT (GOP legislatures).
PA in worst shape of GOP-controlled states. Explains unpopularity of Corbett.
Data is for fiscal year 2012.
“...PA in worst shape of GOP-controlled states. Explains unpopularity of Corbett...”
Actually, it shows what happens when you inherit the mess that Ed Rendell created.
PA is “GOP-controlled”??
PA has a GOP House and slim GOP Senate. Got it back in 2010, Democrat Ed Rendell and his thug friends in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh made a helluva mess.
I am betting the GOP has very little actual control after so short a period.
Those states in the worst condition are doomed because nobody wants to buy a shares of those IOUs (by moving or opening a business there); they open their doors to illegals in the vain hope that they’ll contribute something, but they don’t.
Hey you can’t blame it on the last guy. You think you’re Obama or sumpthin. /s
I always thought that George Washington University in D.C. and George Mason University in VA were different schools!
“...You think you’re Obama or sumpthin....”
Nah...
I just learned how to play the game from the master of blame... :^)
“Control” means the majority in both houses of the leg and the Governorship. Check, check, check.
I didn’t realize (or had forgotten) that the rats gained 3 seats in the PA Senate in 2012. The GOP had held either 29 or 30 seats for quite sometime
Now it’s 26-23 with a GOP vacancy.
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