February 21, 2011 7:07 PM
States' economic health, fiscal responsibility
Last month 
I got this question in my email:
Have you found any good interactive maps that show the economic health and fiscal responsibility of each state in the U.S.?Thanks,
Ambar
I've taken a few stabs at researching this, but haven't been able to come up with a site that evaluates states annually. If anyone out there knows of a good source, please share.
In the meantime, tonight I came across this article - written a year ago, but full of foreshadowing:
Political Litmus Test: Bluest States Spilling The Most Red Ink
Neil Weinberg, 02.25.10
Powerful unions, big spending put Democratic states in deepest fiscal holes.Want to know which states are in the worst financial condition? One telling indicator that might not immediately come to mind is whether most of its citizens identify themselves as Democrats.
The five states in the worst financial condition--Illinois, New York, Connecticut, California and New Jersey--are all among the bluest of blue states. The five most fiscally fit states are more of a mix. Three--Utah, Nebraska and Texas--boast Republican majorities and two--New Hampshire and Virginia--skew Democratic.
The financial ranking of the states is part of a recent Forbes report on the Global Debt Bomb. The political affiliation data was compiled in a 2009 poll of 350,000 adults by Gallup Daily.
Forbes' metrics for each state included unfunded pension liabilities, changes in tax revenue, credit ratings, debt as a percentage of Gross State Product, debt per capita, growth expectations for employment and the state economy, net migrations and a "moocher ratio" that compares government employees, pension burdens and Medicaid enrollees to private-sector employment.
Why do Democratic states appear to be struggling more than Republican ones? It comes down to stronger unions and a larger appetite for public programs, according to Kent Redfield, professor emeritus of political studies and public affairs at the University of Illinois' Center for State Policy and Leadership.
Read more at Forbes.com
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