Includes “Even Governor Abercrombie’s optimistic accounting couldn’t move Hawaii out of its “sinkhole” status. Truth in Accounting has released its annual “State of the States” report, a financial analysis of all 50 states that focuses on the key assets and liabilities of each state to determine the extent of that state’s “Taxpayer Burden” (the amount each taxpayer would have to pay to cover the state’s debt). Of the 41 states with Taxpayer Burdens—which are generally due to unfunded health and pension liabilities—Hawaii falls into the worst five in the nation. These “Sinkhole States,” which include Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Illinois, and Connecticut, have the highest debt per taxpayer in the country. … “Hawaii citizens deserve a better explanation of the sudden and dramatic decreases in retirement health debt than ‘the actuaries calculated it,’ stated Donna Rook, President of StateDataLab.org. “Taxpayers still will have to pay the real debt when it comes due, in spite of different ways to estimate its potential value.” ”
Read the full article on: Hawaii Free Press