This year's report found that 31 states did not have enough money to pay all of their bills.
To encourage the publication of transparent and accurate government financial information, Truth in Accounting has created a transparency score for financial reporting by the states.
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By Andrea Noble, includes “Some states are concerned they could lose out on federal covid relief funding if they cut taxes. But not Idaho. … Both tax policy experts and state officials believe Idaho’s rapid economic growth will offset the tax cuts, making them feasible under federal funding rules.”
Includes “House Bill 73 provides for uniform accounting practices and establishes a ‘committee on uniform accounting and transparency for local governmental entities.’ … … Without the will to rein in spending by these local governments and by allowing them to lobby against reform, it is highly unlikely that transparency will reduce spending.”
The 2020 Financial State of the States report surveys the fiscal health of the 50 states prior to the coronavirus pandemic. This data is released today by Truth in Accounting (TIA), a think tank that analyzes government financial reporting.
Recently, some organizations in Idaho have been agitating for additional federal spending to finance direct subsidies to individuals. Some have even resorted to publicly displaying banners on a busy street in downtown Boise calling on elected officials to further increase spending.
How large could the shortfall in state government general revenues be, amidst the coronavirus and related crises?
Truth in Accounting, a nonpartisan watchdog group, dedicated to analyzing government accounting data from each of the 50 states, has ranked Idaho one of the most financially transparent states in the U.S.
Congress could consider some comprehensive reforms of Social Security if they improve the program’s solvency and protect the benefits of retirees and those close to retirement, the Republican representing Eastern Washington voters said.
Forty-one U.S. states do not have enough money to pay their bills, collectively they have racked up $1.5 trillion in unfunded liabilities.
Just a month ago, as friends and families prepared to gather for the holiday season, the men and women at the U.S. Census Bureau were busy releasing their latest annual estimates of population changes across the United States.
Voters worried that Congress and the White House can't tame federal borrowing may be overlooking another big debt bomb closer to home.
By Liz Essley Whyte (Center for Public Integrity), includes "More than 150 state legislators from places like Idaho and Texas accepted subsidized junkets from a Turkish opposition group that the country's government now blames for an attempted coup.
Enacted state budgets for fiscal 2016 represent a sixth consecutive year of spending and revenue growth, according to this report.
The higher-than-predicted tax revenues also triggered legislation sought by Gov. Butch Otter this year to transfer $85.4 million of the year-end balance into the state’s main savings account, the Budget Stabilization Fund.
From Baltimore to Los Angeles, and many points in between, municipalities are increasingly confronted with how to pay for these massive promises. The Pew Center for the States, in Washington, estimated states' public pension plans across the U.S. were underfunded by a whopping $1.4 trillion in 2010. … Early this year, the Pew Center released a survey showing that 61 of the nation's largest cities — limiting the survey to the largest city in each state and all other cities with more than 500,000 people — had a gap of more than $217 billion in unfunded pension and health care liabilities. While cities had long promised health care, life insurance and other benefits to retirees, "few ... started saving to cover the long-term costs," the report said.