State financial stability

[Maggot]

How does your state rate?

George Mason University study

A new study for the Mercatus Center at George Mason University ranks each US state’s financial health based on short- and long-term debt and other key fiscal obligations, such as unfunded pen­sions and healthcare benefits. This 2016 edition updates the version the Mercatus Center pub­lished in 2015. Using the approach pioneered in 2015, the 2016 edition presents information from each state’s audited financial report in an easily accessible format, this time including Puerto Rico to provide a benchmark of poor fiscal performance.

Growing long-term obligations for pensions and healthcare benefits continue to strain the finances of state governments, highlighting the fact that state policymakers must be vigilant to consider both the short-term and the long-term consequences of their decisions. Understanding how each state is performing in regard to a variety of fiscal indicators can help policymakers as they consider the consequences of policy decisions.

[Donovan]

Couple interesting surprises on that list. Florida placing so highly, Colorado so low. Most of the top states are extremely rural and sparse, no shock there. But Kansas is a shitstain right now financially, how it placed above the rocky mountain pot mecca...wild.

[HairOfTheDog]

The legalization of recreational marijuana (and the resulting multi millions of dollars in business and sales tax revenue) probably contributes to Colorado being ranked as more fiscally stable than Kansas in terms of the OP ranking criteria.

California is about where I would expect it to be. We're in the bottom 10 in the ranking of fiscally stability. But, we're also in the bottom 10 states that rely on federal funding (funding supplied by tax payers from outside of California).



If California legalizes recreational marijuana, I imagine the resulting state revenue will be quite high here as well. But, we're probably gonna need some major rain storms or advances in desalination for that to occur.

http://taxfoundation.org/blog/which-stat...eral-aid-0

[Donovan]

No, Kansas is ABOVE Colorado. I would have expected a result like what you describe but they're flipped.

California's a mess, so's NY. We're dealing with pretty widespread graft and corruption issues here. Nothing anyone would be surprised to hear. Buncha damn crooks anytime there's a lot of money to be made.

[HairOfTheDog]

I think you're working a Colorado Rocky Mountain high or something, Donovan.

Colorado is #22 and Kansas is #27 in terms of fiscal stability, according to the OP link.

California was hit very hard by the mortgage fallout and the recession; it was a real mess across the country and especially here. That's true. And, the state spends more money on social services for its residents than most, but can't always cover the costs with the tax revenues. So, we have to borrow, which is not ideal.

The state is much better off than we were 8 years ago, though there's certainly a lot of room for improvement in cutting costs by improving efficiency. I hope that happens because taxes are already killing some of us who keep people employed (mostly payroll tax and personal property tax, for me).

The drought has also hit the state hard in terms of our large agricultural industry, and that concerns me most in the long run. Fortunately, our robust tech industry has helped us recover from the recession and get to a low unemployment rate.

Personally, I want every decent person in every state -- red, blue, or swinging both ways -- to be healthy in all ways and don't celebrate any states' or peoples' hard times. And, I wouldn't pass up an opportunity to visit every state once -- regardless of its predominant political leanings or fiscal policy.

[Duchess]

How does your state rate?

Below average.