The Pain Index: 10 states placing the largest budget burden on residents
Aaron CroweAaron Crowe RSS Feed
Jul 14th 2010 at 3:00PM
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Filed under: Budgets, In the News
It's funny how government budget cuts trickle down to everyday people. I live in California, which ranks second on U.S. News & World Report's "pain index" of states that have suffered the biggest budget pains and have been forced to institute both tax increases and spending cuts. I can say firsthand that I see the effect of those cuts every day.

Our local pool is closed some days due to city budget cuts, the nearby city of Oakland is laying off more police officers a week after a major riot, and I'm not watering my backyard. That last one is more to save me money and the state some water in a drought. But spending cuts are the reason the road medians in my town aren't being kept up (that said, they look far better than my backyard). Look around, and you're likely to deal firsthand with federal and state budget cuts as they trickle down to your neighborhood.

U.S. News & World Report''s pain index takes a look at places like my hometown, where residents are spending more on taxes yet seeing less in services. It takes into account state tax increases and spending cuts in each state since 2009 and notes that over the past three years, states have cut their budgets by nearly $50 billion -- the biggest reversal of state spending since the Great Depression -- and raised taxes by another $30 billion or so. All of these measures have been taken despite the $250 billion in stimulus aid that the federal government doled out to the states in 2009.

Alaska led the list with a total "pain" per person of $1,265 since 2009. Taxes went down $3 per person, but spending cuts totaled $1,268 per person. Alaska is unique because it doesn't have a statewide income or sales tax, and earns most of its revenue from royalties paid on oil extraction. The state has cut education spending and has a statewide hiring freeze.

California is probably a better example of what's happening around the country. The state came in second with $855 worth of "pain" per person, due to $312 in new taxes and $543 in spending cuts, much of it in education. The state has also experienced increases in sales and income taxes, new fees on motor vehicles and reduced funding for mass transportation, public assistance and public health care -- and that's just a few of the examples. The governor wants to cut state employee pay by 60% to the federal minimum wage.

The complete list is an interesting read, especially for those who live in North Dakota, which is at the bottom of the list. Here are the top 10 states with the most "pain" per person:

1. Alaska: $1,265
2. California: $855
3. Wyoming: $698
4. Rhode Island: $619
5. New Jersey: $602
6. Delaware: $453
7. Hawaii: $444
8. South Carolina: $475
9. Utah: $437
10. Oklahoma: $470


Read more: http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/07/14/10-states-with-the-biggest-budget-pains/#ixzz0tsHPY8eO

Here is the list for all states if you want to see it.

http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/flowchart/2010/7/9/a-state-by-state-pain-index.html

How many of the top states are run by Republicans?

no comments at all?

Tax increases and spending cuts are usually what happen when your spending exceeds your revenue.

I could be mistaken, but I think every state except Vermont has some form of balanced budget requirement. That means they can't drown their state in debt like the federal government does.

Lets take a look at California..

Spending for 2007...$141 billion

2008...$153 billion

2009...$169 billion

2010...$187 billion

That is an increase of $46 billion in spending in just 4 years..

California's population is roughly 37,000,000.. x $534 per each person in spending cuts = a little more than $20 billion..

That is still less than half of what the spending was increased since 2007. That is just $2 billion less than they spent in 2009.

This is a perfect illustration of how ridiculous government spending has become.

I suggest you peruse the link below and take a look at the states spending increases over the last few years before and during the recession.. Its quite a kick..

http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/