Massachusetts is NUMBER 1!

**Ken** · 07-13-2013, 04:49 PM

...because our governor, executive officers, and state legislators - with very few exceptions - are a bunch of irresponsible incompetent progressive azzholes, and many of them should be in prison.

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**welderguy** · 07-13-2013, 04:59 PM

Wounder why D.C wasnt rated.

**BENESSE** · 07-13-2013, 05:00 PM

NY is behind AK!
I'll be durn...

**Winter** · 07-13-2013, 05:41 PM

Ak is riddled with wasteful spending. Being that there's no state taxes, the number is off. Right? Only oil companies pay state tax.

**crashdive123** · 07-13-2013, 05:45 PM

Originally Posted by welderguy

Wounder why D.C wasnt rated.

I'm guessing because it's not a state, therefor would not be incurring state debt.

**welderguy** · 07-13-2013, 05:57 PM

Originally Posted by crashdive123

I'm guessing because it's not a state, therefor would not be incurring state debt.

Maybe !!!!!

**Huggorm** · 07-13-2013, 06:11 PM

Is there a debt for the whole US to, beside the state debt? If not that's quite good. If Sweden was an american state we would be number one with $18,984 and that is considered a low debt compared to many other european countries.

**crashdive123** · 07-13-2013, 06:13 PM

Originally Posted by Huggorm

Is there a debt for the whole US to, beside the state debt? If not that's quite good. If Sweden was an american state we would be number one with $18,984 and that is considered a low debt compared to many other european countries.

That's just each individual state. If the 17 Trillion of federal debt were added it would be much higher.

**Ken** · 07-13-2013, 06:38 PM

Originally Posted by crashdive123

That's just each individual state. If the 17 Trillion of federal debt were added it would be much higher.

Not to mention another $120 TRILLION in unfunded government liabilities nationwide.

**Cast-Iron** · 07-13-2013, 06:43 PM

I'm glad to see Texas near the bottom of this particular list, but I'm not sure it portrays Alaska accurately. The dividends from their Permanent Funds alone would likely pay off this debt within several years. That would surely pi$$ off the state's residents, but then their government wouldn't have to levy any new taxes. How many other states even have that option? Maybe, and I mean maybe North Dakota?

**Winter** · 07-13-2013, 07:44 PM

Originally Posted by Cast-Iron

I'm glad to see Texas near the bottom of this particular list, but I'm not sure it portrays Alaska accurately. The dividends from their Permanent Funds alone would likely pay off this debt within several years. That would surely pi$$ off the state's residents, but then their government wouldn't have to levy any new taxes. How many other states even have that option? Maybe, and I mean maybe North Dakota?

Read my last. There's no state tax here.

**Rick** · 07-13-2013, 10:45 PM

Let's put this into perspective. Just because a state has a low per capita state debt does not necessarily mean that's a good thing. It depends on the level of services provided within that state coupled with the assets that state has.

Per capita debt is simply a single, often meaningless, data point without other data points by which to judge it. It may or may not represent a good or bad thing.

**medic68** · 07-14-2013, 12:02 AM

Originally Posted by Rick

Let's put this into perspective. Just because a state has a low per capita state debt does not necessarily mean that's a good thing. It depends on the level of services provided within that state coupled with the assets that state has.

Per capita debt is simply a single, often meaningless, data point without other data points by which to judge it. It may or may not represent a good or bad thing.

Thank you Sir.......... well put

**Cast-Iron** · 07-14-2013, 07:52 AM

Originally Posted by Winter

Read my last. There's no state tax here.

Every state taxes. Alaska is no different in the fact that it takes money to operate it's state government. When the oil & gas revenue stream eventually plays out in the Last Frontier, and someday it will, I wouldn't be shocked to see Alaskan legislators adopting some form of a broad based tax. But that wasn't my point. As Rick pointed out, these numbers are fairly meaningless data points without more context. Alaska, in the number two slot on this list, would appear to be a heavily debt-ridden state. Nothing could be further from the truth. They have wisely elected to invest their windfall energy profits and only distribute the earnings from these investments equally among the state's residents. Should the need someday arise, Alaskan officials could conceivably tap these funds or even just the accrued interest to retire state debts. I think North Dakota would be well-served to emulate this system with the revenues they are now realizing from the Bakken shale.