Free Republic

At the end of the fiscal year 2020, 39 states did not have enough money to pay all of their bills. .... Total debt among the 50 states amounted to $1.5 trillion at the end of the fiscal year 2020 ... Retirement plans, such as pension and retiree health care benefits .. account for the majority of state debt ... on average, the 50 states had only set aside 64 cents to fund pension promises and 8 cents to fund retiree health care promises .... When states cannot make up investment shortfalls, then taxpayers have to make up the difference....

January is traditionally the time to put the past behind us, turn over a new leaf, and make plans for what’s to come. Many indicators show the country’s economy has been pumping on all cylinders this past year. Stocks are at record highs and the unemployment rate is at its lowest point in 17 years. Many would agree that the economy is moving in the right direction, which is excellent news. Unfortunately, this optimistic news is somewhat undercut by worsening financial trajectories at the state government level from coast to coast. The nation is not in as good a shape...

PHOENIX (AP) -- A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Arizona authorities can enforce the most contentious section of the state's immigration law, which critics have dubbed the "show me your papers" provision. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton clears the way for police to carry out the 2010 law's requirement that officers, while enforcing other laws, question the immigration status of those they suspect are in the country illegally. The requirement has been at the center of a two-year legal battle that culminated in a U.S. Supreme Court decision in June upholding the requirement. Opponents then asked Bolton...

Earlier today, Angela Merkel issued a dramatic ultimatum about sharing debt loads with other Eurozone countries. We've often discussed how this would actually be something of a silver bullet to solving Europe's PIGS problem. Now, we have a map that helps illustrate the point — thanks to our friends at the Economist, by way of Taegan Goddard and Matt Yglesias. Below you'll see the geography of net federal transfer payments in the U.S. by state. The more pink the state, the more it takes out of the federal pot than it puts in...(or, if you prefer, the more freeloading off...