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Includes: “New York City is in trouble. A new report by Truth In Accounting, a nonpartisan nonprofit that specializes in government transparency, shows that New York City has $204.4 billion in debt—$71,400 per taxpayer. This means that each taxpayer would have to pay $71,400 in future taxes without receiving any related services or benefits."
Includes: "While these cities may appear to have balanced their books, the reality is very different, says TIA founder Sheila Weinberg. 'They have surpluses and seem to be in good shape. But it is misleading; they are ignoring their debts,' Weinberg told Delaware Valley Journal. 'It’s a little like saying, ‘well, you got plenty of cash in your pockets but just ignore those big credit card debts you have in your back pockets.’”
Includes: "Truth in Accounting recently released their 2022 “Fiscal State of the Cities.” The report examines the balance sheets of the seventy-five largest U.S. cities, including fifteen California cities, which it analyzed using 'Full Accrual Calculations and Techniques. ... a dozen California cities are in the red. Sacramento, Santa Ana, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Anaheim have between $4,300 and $6,600 of tax burden per taxpayer."
Even before the game started, Truth in Accounting concluded Los Angeles beat Cincinnati. LA's Taxpayer Burden is only $6,400 compared to Cincinnati's $18,200. These amounts represent each taxpayer's share of their city's debt, including unfunded pension and retiree health care liabilities.
Includes: "The report’s findings for this year showed that sixty-one of the cities analyzed are in debt, including the six most populous Texas cities: Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, ... ” Sheila's note: The debt included in our analysis is not capital debt. Most of it is pension and retiree health care liabilities that have already been earned by the employees, but city officials have chosen to not fund, thus burdening future taxpayers.
Includes: "The city claims it 'operates on a tough set of financial controls' to ensure it balances its annual budget. It doesn’t. According to a report recently released by a nonprofit, Truth in Accounting (TIA), in order to 'balance the budget' Portland has been failing to include its true costs, pushing costs onto future taxpayers."
Includes: "Seattle is one of 26 cities to receive a grade of ‘C’ for total debt per taxpayer according to Truth in Accounting’s new Financial State of the Cities report. ... Even though all 75 cities have a balanced budget requirement in place but racked up billions in debt, TIA noted that municipalities use various accounting tricks to make their budgets appear balanced. "
Includes: "Based upon the city’s fiscal year 2020 audited financial report, Honolulu had a Taxpayer Burden™ of $31,700, earning it an 'F' grade from Truth in Accounting. ... Honolulu’s elected officials have repeatedly made financial decisions that left the city with a debt burden of $3.9 billion. ... "
Includes: "A new report on the financial condition of the 75 most populous cities ranked St. Louis no. 65 in the nation for fiscal health. ... The bottom line is that St. Louis did not have enough money to pay its bills, which is why it received a 'D' grade for its fiscal health."
Includes: "Hawaii Gov. David Ige on Monday proposed refunding $100 to every taxpayer and dependent as the economy and tax receipts recover from the coronavirus pandemic. ... 'We believe that the $1 billion to the rainy day fund would really prepare Hawaii to be able to stand on its own in response to the next emergency,' he said.'"