Woo-hoo! We’re Number 19 (In Fiscal Health)!

Mercatus Center GMUGeorge Mason University’s Mercatus Center has published its annual report card on the fiscal health of the 50 states (plus Puerto Rico but not including the District of Columbia).

As you might expect, Puerto Rico, which would be bankrupt if it were allowed by law to declare bankruptcy, is ranked 51st. Alaska ranks first, followed by Nebraska, Wyoming, and North Dakota. Bringing up the rear just before Puerto Rico are Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Jersey.

The states at the top of the list are fiscally healthy; those at the bottom are fiscally sickly.

According to the study’s authors, Eileen Norcross and Olivia Gonzalez, Virginia is in the top quintile two-fifths, ranking 19th overall:

On the basis of its fiscal solvency in five separate categories, Virginia ranks 19th among the US states and Puerto Rico for its fiscal health. On a cash basis, Virginia has between 1.63 and 2.40 times the cash needed to cover short-term liabilities. Revenues exceed expenses by 3 percent, for a surplus of $151 per capita. Virginia’s net asset ratio of ?0.005 indicates that the state has no assets remaining after meeting its debts. Total liabilities are 30 percent of total assets. Total debt is $6.86 billion. Unfunded pension liabilities are $87.66 billion, and other postemployment benefits (OPEB) are $5.19 billion. These three liabilities are equal to 24 percent of total state personal income.

On specific categories, Virginia’s rankings differ. It ranks 28th in cash solvency and budget solvency; 26th in long-run solvency; 14th in trust-fund solvency; and 5th in service-level solvency. (All these terms are defined in the report.)

Is there room for improvement? Yes, but Virginia taxpayers do not have much to complain about, compared to our friends in New England, New Jersey, and Illinois.

The full study, “Ranking the States by Fiscal Condition,” 2016 ed. (Mercatus Research, Mercatus Center at George Mason University, Arlington, VA, June 2016), can be downloaded as a PDF.

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