We've all read about blue states that are carrying huge debts, such as California, Illinois, Oregon, and Connecticut:
A huge part of the problem is surreal, unbelievable state government pensions, such as the following:
As a result of the tax-spend-and-borrow policies in California and Illinois, people and businesses are leaving those states in large numbers:
Over the past few years, several of today’s 50 states have descended into unmanageable public indebtedness. In Illinois, vendors wait months to be paid by a state government that is $30 billion in debt and one notch above junk bond status. And in terms of per capita state debt, Connecticut ranks among the worst in the nation, with unfunded liabilities amounting to $22,700 per citizen. (Opinion | Connecticut is drowning in debt. Should the rest of us have to pay?)
A huge part of the problem is surreal, unbelievable state government pensions, such as the following:
In parallel, public pensions of sometimes grotesque levels guarantee that the fiscal strangulation will soon get much worse. In California, some retired lifeguards are receiving more than $90,000 per year. A retired university president in Oregon received $76,000 per month — and no, that’s not a typo. These are the modern-day welfare queens, and they are the reason for some of the nation’s worst budget crises. California’s pension shortfall, $250 billion under the rosiest of assumptions, is more likely close to $1 trillion. (Opinion | Connecticut is drowning in debt. Should the rest of us have to pay?)
As a result of the tax-spend-and-borrow policies in California and Illinois, people and businesses are leaving those states in large numbers:
More and more desperate tax increases haven’t cured the problem; it’s possible that they are making it worse. When a state pursues boneheaded policies long enough, people and businesses get up and leave, taking tax dollars with them. We see this often in the headlines: GE leaves Connecticut, General Mills exits Illinois, Chevron and Waste Management flee California. But also watch the U-Haul rental data: Illinois and California are first and second , respectively, in net rentals leaving vs. coming into the state. (Opinion | Connecticut is drowning in debt. Should the rest of us have to pay?)
