Louisiana state debt, 2004-2017

in Louisiana

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Louisiana debt

Financial figures

Total state debt: $17,593,764,000

Per capita debt: $3,768

State budget and finance pages • Total state expenditures • State debt • Tax policy in Louisiana

State debt refers to any debt owned by a state government. Debt may include any financial obligations a state has that have not been paid, such as bonds issued by state governments, money borrowed by a state government that has not been repaid, or post-retirement benefits promised to state employees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Louisiana had a debt of $17,593,764,000 in fiscal year 2015. The state debt per capita was $3,768. This ranked Louisiana 18th among the states in debt and 19th in per capita debt. The total state debt owned by the 50 states was $1.15 trillion with a per capita debt of $3,582.^[1]

It is important to note that the below figures reflect various sources with different methodologies. The U.S. Census Bureau figures do not include any debt owed by local governments in the states, debt owed by the federal government, promised pension payments that have yet to be funded, or unemployment trust fund loans. Information on debt per capita was not directly available from the U.S. Census Bureau, and was calculated using the census figures for state debt and population. State debt figures from the State Budget Solutions report below were calculated using data from the states' 2012 comprehensive annual financial reports. To access the complete SBS report, including methodology details, click here.^[2][3]

State debt[edit]

The tables below detail the debt figures in Louisiana compared to those of neighboring states.

U.S. Census Bureau[edit]

State Budget Solutions 2014 report[edit]

Public pensions[edit]

See also: Louisiana public pensions

The U.S. Census Bureau does not include unfunded pension liabilities in its debt calculations. Others, including State Budget Solutions, do take these figures into account. Between fiscal years 2012 and 2014, the funded ratio of Louisiana's state-administered pension plans increased from 56 percent to 65 percent. For fiscal year 2014 the pension system's liability totaled $49,273 million.^[4][5]

Credit ratings[edit]

See also: State credit ratings

Credit rating agencies, such as Standard and Poor's, assign grades to states that take into account a state's ability to pay debts and the general health of the state's economy. Generally speaking, a higher credit rating indicates lower interest costs on the general obligation bonds states sometimes sell to investors in order to finance large-scale undertakings (e.g., road construction and other public works projects). This in turn results in lower interest costs, thereby lowering the cost to taxpayers. A high state debt may cause credit rating agencies to predict that the state will not be able to pay its debt, and so cause them to downgrade a state's credit rating.^[6][7]

The table below lists the Standard and Poor's credit ratings for Louisiana and surrounding states from 2004 to 2017. Standard and Poor's grades range from AAA, the highest available, to BBB-, the lowest.^[8]

Studies[edit]

Truth in Accounting 2017 report[edit]

In a report released in September 2017 by the nonprofit Truth in Accounting (TIA), states were ranked by taxpayer burden, a term that reflects "the amount each taxpayer would have to send to their state's treasury in order for the state to be debt-free" as of 2016. Louisiana ranked 41st, with a taxpayer burden of $18,300.^[9]

To figure a state’s taxpayer burden or surplus, TIA looked at a state’s total reported assets minus capital assets and assets restricted by law (buildings, roads, land, etc.) to calculate “available assets,” which were then compared to the amount of money the state owes in bills, including retirement obligations such as pension plans and healthcare benefits for retirees. If the difference between available assets and total bills was positive, TIA called this a taxpayer surplus; if it was negative, this was a taxpayer burden. This amount was then divided by the number of individual tax returns with a positive tax liability, thus expressing the total state surplus or burden on a per-taxpayer basis.^[10]

The table below lists the taxpayer burder or taxpayer surplus in Louisiana from 2009 to 2016. In the table below, negative figures represent a taxpayer burden, while positive figures represent a taxpayer surplus.^[9]

Recent news[edit]

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Louisiana debt. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

See also[edit]

• Louisiana state budget and finances
• Tax policy in Louisiana
• Louisiana public pensions
• Louisiana State Senate
• Louisiana House of Representatives
• Louisiana State Legislature
• State debt

Footnotes[edit]

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