Future Retirement Success
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks

Future Retirement Success

Investing

State Taxes and Debt

by October 17, 2023
October 17, 2023
State Taxes and Debt

Chris Edwards

Government legislators pursue spending increases because they believe that spending solves problems in society and benefits their constituents. However, they use methods of fiscal illusion to try to hide the costs of spending. One method is debt. By borrowing, legislators push the costs down the road for future legislators and taxpayers to deal with.

Spendthrift legislators can get away with borrowing more and taxing less in the short run, but in the long run taxes will rise to cover the higher interest costs on the accumulating debt. Relative to state gross domestic product, state and local taxes tend to be higher in states that have higher state and local debt, as shown in the chart below. The tax and debt data are from the Census Bureau for 2021.

The chart includes a fitted regression line showing the strong positive correlation between taxes and debt. Perhaps states that borrow more end up raising taxes to cover the rising interest costs. Or perhaps states that favor higher spending tend to pursue it with both taxes and debt. There are some outliers—Kentucky has high debt and average taxes, whereas Maine and Vermont have high taxes and average debt.

People living in the top‐​right states should be asking questions. Residents of Vermont, Maine, and Hawaii should be asking why their tax burdens are almost twice as high as the burdens in the lowest‐​tax states. And residents of Kentucky, West Virginia, New York, and Hawaii should be asking why their states have racked up debt burdens three or four times higher than the burdens in the lowest‐​debt states. And all of us should be asking why the federal government is vastly more irresponsible with debt than the worst‐​run states.

0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
Governments Infringe on Women’s Right to Decide Where to Have Their Baby
next post
Not Just Any Fiscal Commission Will Resolve America’s Fiscal Crisis

You may also like

Has Intergenerational Progress Stalled?

July 16, 2024

Australians and Septic Tank Yanks

July 10, 2023

Americans Remain Worried about Food Prices . ....

May 9, 2024

Decentralize Spending to Tackle Government Debt

January 25, 2024

Reforming Medicaid Subsidies

October 13, 2023

Republicans’ One, Big, Beautiful Tax Bill Needs a...

May 14, 2025

Crypto Clarity Is Up to Congress: Taking Stock...

July 19, 2023

China Raises Real Concerns; Revoking Permanent Normal Trade...

December 12, 2023

US Citizens Were 80.2 Percent of Crossers with...

August 8, 2024

The Untouchables: How Prosecutorial Immunity Breeds Injustice

March 11, 2025

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free

    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • Tariff “Inclusion” Process Comes with High Costs, Absurd Outcomes, and Extra Cronyism

      August 22, 2025
    • Trump DOJ releases ‘thousands’ of Epstein files to House Oversight Committee

      August 22, 2025
    • Jackson scathing dissent levels partisan charge at colleagues after high-profile ruling

      August 22, 2025
    • ‘Leftist’ taxpayer-funded academy sparks backlash after moving against Trump’s rollback of key regulation

      August 22, 2025
    • Friday Feature: Helena Homeschool Enrichment Co-op

      August 22, 2025
    • John Bolton blasted by Trump ally Roger Stone, who faced Biden FBI raid: ‘Karma is a b—-‘

      August 22, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (8,855)
    • Investing (2,235)
    • Politics (16,464)
    • Stocks (3,228)
    • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: futureretirementsuccess.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 futureretirementsuccess.com | All Rights Reserved