Connecticut has received another embarrassing financial distinction. This leaves little doubt that goodies for Big Public Labor hurt average taxpayers. Truth in Accounting, a Chicago-based think tank, has released the 2019 edition of its “Financial State of the States” report. It deemed Connecticut’s financial situation the 48th healthiest in the United States.

Conde Nast Traveler (CNT) released its "The Best Cities in the U.S.: 2019 Readers' Choice Awards" this week.

Last week, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., sent letters to the governors of Illinois, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Delaware, Connecticut and New Jersey–all Democrats save Gov. Charlie Baker, R-Mass., outlining his concerns about rising debt in their states and showcasing the actions he took as governor to turn around Florida’s economy.

The SJ-R recently reprinted a Champaign News-Gazette editorial citing Truth in Accounting about state fiscal health. The lack of complete information calls into question “Truth.”

If a nation is only as strong as its constituent states, then America is in serious trouble. Some states are in worse shape than others, but unfunded liabilities have gotten so bad that the nation as a whole is threatened with financial ruin.

Ostrolenk speaks with Sheila Weinberg and Bill Bergman, from Truth in Accounting, which offers comprehensive analysis of government fiscal data on the federal, state, and local government level.

The “significant” protection the U.S. Federal Reserve has from short-term political pressures also gives it an obligation to “clearly explain” monetary policy, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said on Wednesday.

For too long, citizens and government officials were not provided with the financial information needed to make knowledgeable tax and spending policy decisions. This resulted in all 50 states accumulating a combined $1.5 trillion in debt related to pension and other post-employment benefits, while elected officials claimed balanced budgets.

Unfunded retirement liabilities are the main contributing factor to state-level debt, according to a new report from conservative think tank Truth in Accounting (TIA). Pension debt accounts for approximately $824 billion of the estimated total $.5 trillion of unfunded liabilities in US states.

When it comes to its finances, the state of Illinois has gone from bad to worse. The good news, if one can call it that, is it’s not yet the worst.

Rep. Frank Ryan, R-Palmyra, answered calls from citizens this week about his proposal to eliminate school property taxes for Pennsylvanians, cautioning them that something needs to be done to prevent future problems with the commonwealth’s finances.

In response to a recent essay of mine about our state’s parlous load of debt and unfunded obligations, a reader asked: Why so much red ink? The answer lies in an unsavory stew of human nature; our state’s political tradition of careerist politicians, and the political self-admonition of “not on my watch.”

Colorado’s finances rank 27^th in the nation, and the state earns a ‘D’ for its financial condition, according to Truth in Accounting’s 2019 State of the States report.