Red States/Blue States

[Kathianne]

Managing tax payer $$$:

http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/070815-760760-red-states-top-list-of-fiscal-soundness-ranking.htm


http://www.investors.com/image/ISShalf_150709.png.cms

Budgets: Pop quiz: What do the most fiscally sound states have in common? Good weather? Oil? Blind luck? Or is it conservative policies such as keeping taxes low, regulations reasonable and spending under control?


A new report from George Mason University's Mercatus Center (http://mercatus.org/statefiscalrankings) ranks all 50 states based on 14 measures designed to determine whether states can pay their short-term bills and meet their long-term obligations — debt, pension liabilities and such. The data go through 2013.


The best-run states have enough cash to pay its current bills, enough revenue coming in to meet its fiscal year needs, a cushion for economic shocks, and management long-term liabilities.


The worst states, in contrast, have "tens, if not hundreds, of billions of dollars in unfunded liabilities -- constituting a significant risk to taxpayers in both the short and the long term."


...

[NightTrain]

Unfortunately, Alaska isn't doing so well right now and last I heard, we're running a $2 billion deficit.

We were running a little better than breaking even from the oil tax plan Sarah Palin had put into place, and things were pretty rosy. There were big projects all over the State, we were running a small surplus, and the oil companies were making money. Then when she called it quits, her Lt. Governor Sean Parnell took over. No one really knew much about him (or really cared, tbh), but it turns out that he had worked as an Oil Lobbyist in Juneau for big oil. Parnell scrapped the tax plan that was paying the bills for AK, and put in an alternate plan.

Suddenly we're running a $2 Billion deficit, and while we have cash reserves that will float us for about 5 years at that rate, it's still no bueno. Now the legislators are trying to figure out how to make up $2 billion, and of course the first things that get run up the flagpole are a state income tax, then increased property taxes, a sales tax, etc.

I'm all for big oil doing their thing, because when they get busy the economy booms and everyone benefits. But Parnell pretty much gave it all away and we're in trouble... something has to change to get us back on track - and that something is reverting back to Palin's oil tax setup, IMO. Fortunately we've got a few years in reserves to figure it out.

[Perianne]

http://www.investors.com/image/ISShalf_150709.png.cms

The two southern states on the "worst" list, Kentucky and West Virginia, are really states that vote for Democrats in local politics.