The national debt is a ticking time bomb now topping $23.1 trillion – and that isn’t even the total debt that American taxpayers owe. Forty of the nation’s fifty states don’t have enough money to meet their obligations, with a total of $1.5 trillion in growing unfunded liabilities.
While most states are in hot water, the problem is worst in states with a Democrat governor alongside a Democrat controlled legislature. A new study from Truth in Accounting analyzed the fiscal health of the fifty states and and the trend was clear. The more Republican control, the better (and less-worse) fiscal health those states are in.
The worst run states and their unfunded liabilities per citizen, according to their “2019 Financial State of the States,” are:
- Vermont, -$19,000
- New York, -$20,500
- California, -$21,800
- Kentucky, -$25,700
- Delaware, -$27,100
- Hawaii, -$31,200
- Massachusetts, -$31,200
- Connecticut, -$51,800
- Illinois, -$52,600
- New Jersey, -$65,100
Kentucky is the only state on the list with a Republican controlled legislature (and still had a Republican governor during the time-frame of this study). Every single other state has a Democrat controlled legislature. The only hints of Red is Massachusetts’ and Vermont’s Republican governors.
The best states actually had a surplus per citizen. They are:
- Alaska, $74,200 per taxpayer
- North Dakota, $30,700
- Wyoming, $20,800
- Utah, $5,300
- Idaho, $2,900
- Tennessee, $2,800
- South Dakota, $2,800
- Nebraska, $2,000
- Oregon, $1,600
- Iowa, $700
Alaska is an outlier due to oil wealth combined with a low population, and has a split legislature with a Republican governor.
Every single other state with the exception of Oregon has a Republican governor and legislature. Nebraska is technically an exception in that they’re the only state with a unicameral legislature – but that is Republican controlled.
The next nine states on the list have relatively low levels of unfunded liabilities under $2,500 per citizen, and are majority Republican controlled (with Virginia as the only exception).
This all being said, the majority of states are still being mismanaged. Fortunately, there are ten other states they can model themselves after.
