Massachusetts State Debt Among Highest in US

Friday, January 10, 2014  Zeke Wright, GoLocalWorcester Contibutor

 

 

Massachusetts has the fourth highest level of outstanding debt per capita in the nation: The state owes $3,816 per resident, a combination of bonds, leases, and other government-issued debts.
 
And that number doesn't included unfunded public pension and other post employment benefit liabilities.
 
In a new report this week, the national public policy group State Budget Solutions tallies a total combined $129.55 billion in state debt owed in the Commonwealth. (The report doesn't consider municipal or federal debt.)
 
That “total state debt” figure in Massachusetts equals $19,493 for every resident according to Cory Eucalitto, a SBS editor and author of the report. But the numbers, particularly for pensions, are hotly contested.
 
“Yes, the Commonwealth has debt ... (and) relative to other states, our debt is fairly high,” acknowledged Scott Jordan, Massachusetts' undersecretary of administration and finance. “But there are good reasons for it.”

The link to the entire article is on GoLocalWorcester.com at: http://www.golocalworcester.com/news/massachusetts-state-debt-among-highest-in-us/