Now Available
Our annual report on state fiscal health. Debt among the states improved slightly. Going from $1.2 trillion down to $938.6 billion.
What happened?
How did your state do? Read the full report below.
https://www.truthinaccounting.org/news/detail/financial-state-of-the-states-2023
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This year's report found that 31 states did not have enough money to pay all of their bills.
By Stephen Pimpo, includes “The mayor says he wanted to restructure the position to focus on accounting and working with budgets. ‘We need to get this one right,’ says Ward 3 City Councilman Rusty Greene. ‘And given our track record over the last few years of balancing the budget and maintaining the books, I would say someone with a strong financial background would almost be a must.’ …”
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.
PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Truth in Accounting's twelfth annual Financial State of the States report, a nationwide analysis of the most recent state government financial information.
By Steve Wilson, includes “… Report author and ALEC's chief economist and executive vice president of policy Jonathan Williams said that while the overall numbers aren't as bad as California or Illinois in terms of dollar amounts, the per-capita and other measures should be of concern to Mississippi policymakers. … Williams says greater unfunded liabilities have goaded pension fund managers to aim for riskier investments.”
By Scott Rasmussen, includes “… On a percentage basis, the biggest increases were found in Idaho, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah.”
Mississippi is one of 39 states that can’t pay its bills, according to a recently released report and taxpayers owe $10,400 apiece to make the debt whole.
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.
Despite a massive economic downturn associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mississippi Legislature passed a bond bill that will add $291 million to the state’s indebtedness.
How large could the shortfall in state government general revenues be, amidst the coronavirus and related crises?
I recently listened to the Great Courses series of lectures, entitled Crashes and Crisis: Lessons form a History of Financial Disasters, hosted by Professor Connel Fullenkamp.
“Among neighboring states, Mississippi is the only one that has not passed a resolution to call for a Convention of the States under Article V of the U.S. Constitution. … Mark Meckler, president of Convention of States Action, says that a constitutional amendment that forces fiscal responsibility on the federal government is needed to address this issue.”
“A majority of members in the Mississippi House voted Tuesday to add more than $173 million in bond debt to the taxpayers’ credit card. The bill now heads to the Senate, where a companion bond bill has already passed. The difference between the two amounts to a deep chasm.”
According to the report from Truth In Accounting, Mississippi’s finances were ranked 33rd among the 50 states. Based on money available, each taxpayer would have to pay $11,300 to cover the state’s bill.
Truth in Accounting founder and CEO Sheila Weinberg respond's to a Bloomberg article published earlier this month blaming a new accounting rule for the decline in a Mississippi hospital's financial condition.
The financial health of Magnolia Regional Health Center, a 200-bed public hospital in northern Mississippi, has gone from fair to serious condition all because of an accounting rule.
State Auditor Stacey Pickering said Mississippi government has some glaring, systemic accounting problems it must address to protect taxpayers from fraud and abuse and keep the state's credit rating healthy....