in Missouri

Fiscal Budgets Missouri state budget and finances Tax policy in Missouri Finance Financial regulation in Missouri Pensions Public pensions in Missouri Pension health in Missouri Civil liberties Affirmative action in Missouri Campaign finance requirements in Missouri Campaign finance requirements for Missouri ballot measures Nonprofit regulation in Missouri Education Charter schools in Missouri Higher education in Missouri Public education in Missouri School choice in Missouri Elections Ballot access Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Missouri Ballot access requirements for political parties in Missouri Political parties in Missouri Ballot access requirements for presidential candidates in Missouri Redistricting in Missouri Voting in Missouri Energy andEnvironment Energy policy in Missouri Fracking in Missouri Oil and gas extraction on federal land in Missouri Endangered species in Missouri Environmental policy in Missouri Healthcare Healthcare policy in Missouri Medicaid spending in Missouri Effect of the Affordable Care Act in Missouri Immigration Immigration in Missouri

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Missouri debt

Financial figures

Total state debt: $19,350,325,000

Per capita debt: $3,185

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

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,Missouri had a debt of $19,350,325,000 in fiscal year 2015. The state debt per capita was $3,185. This ranked Missouri 17th among the states in debt and 26th 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. SBS debt figures were calculated "based on figures from each state's respective fiscal year 2012 comprehensive annual financial report." To access the complete State Budget Solutions report, including methodology details, clickhere.^[2][3]

State debt

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

U.S. Census Bureau

State Budget Solutions 2014 report

Public pensions

See also:Missouri 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 Missouri's state-administered pension plans increased from 78 percent to 85 percent. For fiscal year 2014 the pension system's liability totaled $61,888 million.^[4][5]

Credit ratings

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 Missouri and surrounding states from 2004 to 2017. Standard and Poor's grades range from AAA, the highest available, to BBB-, the lowest.^[8]

Studies

Truth in Accounting 2017 report

In a report released in September 2017 by the nonprofitTruth in Accounting (TIA), states were ranked bytaxpayer 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. Missouri ranked 21st, with a taxpayer burden of $4,200.^[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 ataxpayer surplus; if it was negative, this was ataxpayer 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 Missouri from 2009 to 2016. In the table below, negative figures represent a taxpayer burden, while positive figures represent a taxpayer surplus.^[9]

Recent news

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

See also

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

Footnotes

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