New Jersey's scary debt crisis

New Jersey has the highest taxpayer burden out of the 50 states, but how else does the state act irresponsibly financially? According to the information from Truth in Accounting’s State Data Lab, New Jersey is one of the most financially troubled states in the country. Let’s take a closer look at the numbers.

Truth in Accounting reports data on something called the “Zombie Index”--an index based on three elements gauging state financial irresponsibility. “Taxpayer Burden,” or the amount each taxpayer would have to pay to break even on the state debt, is weighted in the index at 50 percent. The share of retirement obligations left off the balance sheet is weighted at 25 percent, along with the timeliness (or lack thereof) in filing the annual Comprehensive Annual Financial Report.

For the Zombie Index of the 50 states, New Jersey came in at the number one spot with the highest index value. This indicates that New Jersey may be more likely to take higher risks in their investments and other areas. Its neighbor, Connecticut, followed in second. The rest of New Jersey’s neighbors ranked lower for the zombie index, but still in the top half: Delaware ranked 11th, Pennsylvania 12th, Maryland 18th, and New York 22nd. This may indicate a regional finance problem in the northeast states.

Interested in learning more about New Jersey’s finances? Check out Truth in Accounting’s newly released Financial State of New Jersey here.