Ok Waco, I’ll take it maybe Republicans in the 60s cared about money but that’d be before my lifetime so I’ll qualify my statement, in my lifetime Republicans haven’t been fiscally responsible.
You happy now?
Originally Posted by 1blackman1
To avoid getting bogged down you may just want to read the red text below. Please note that North Dakota, Alaska, Wyoming, Utah, and Tennessee are ALL red states. 4 of the 5 don't lean Republican. Unfortunately Sam Altman's trying to train my bitch to be a progressive but I'm on it.
I can tell her to go ahead and prepare the Excel table. Just say the word. It won't be pretty for your side though.
Tiny: Please compare budget deficits and debt run by blue (Democrat) states, cities and counties to red states, cities and counties.
ChatGPT:
Here’s a clean, apples-to-apples way to think about it, plus what the best data shows right now.
How I compared “blue” vs “red”
States: I treat a state as “blue” or “red” by who won it in the 2024 presidential election (official FEC tally).
FEC.gov
What we’re comparing: (1) Annual balance (do recurring revenues cover recurring expenses?) and (2) Long-term obligations (bonded debt + pensions/OPEB on an accrual basis). States must generally balance annual budgets, so the bigger party differences show up in long-term liabilities, not in reported cash-basis “deficits.”
Tax Policy Center
States (bottom line)
Using full-accrual, audited data, Truth in Accounting’s 2024 report finds 27 states lacked enough assets to cover their bills; the top five “Sunshine” states (largest taxpayer surpluses) were North Dakota, Alaska, Wyoming, Utah, and Tennessee—4 of 5 typically Republican-leaning. The bottom five “Sinkhole” states are consistently New Jersey, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Hawaii—all typically Democratic-leaning.
truthinaccounting.org
Morrissey Goodale
Kiowa County Press
Credit market view: Many AAA-rated states are red (e.g., Utah, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, South Dakota), though some blue jurisdictions (e.g., Delaware, Washington’s Moody’s Aaa) also sit near the top—so it’s not purely partisan. Credit ratings reflect debt loads, reserves, and economic structure.
Wikipedia
Context on annual balances and cushions: Across 2008-2022, the median state took in 103.6% of expenses (surplus on average). After the post-COVID revenue boom, states are now downsizing FY25 budgets but still carry historically high rainy-day reserves. These trends are broad-based, not party-specific.
Pew Charitable Trusts
+2
Pew Charitable Trusts
+2
Higher Logic Download
What drives the pattern? The big driver of blue-state “Sinkholes” is legacy pension and retiree-health (OPEB) promises in older, union-heavy systems (e.g., IL, NJ, CT, MA, HI). Several red, resource-rich states (ND, WY, AK, UT, TN) benefit from volatile severance tax bases and comparatively reformed pension systems.
Equable
Reason Foundation
Large cities
Among the 75 biggest cities (TIA’s 2024/2025 studies), most run taxpayer burdens once pensions/OPEB are counted. Notably:
Best (“Sunshine”): Washington, DC; Irvine, CA; Plano, TX; Lincoln, NE; Oklahoma City, OK. (This list mixes Democratic and Republican governance.)
Worst (“Sinkhole”): New York City; Chicago; Honolulu; Philadelphia; Portland. (Predominantly Democratic).
truthinaccounting.org
TIA’s 2025 city update underscores pensions/OPEB as the majority of non-capital debt; at FY2023, the 75 cities had $621.7B in total obligations against $321B in available assets.
truthinaccounting.org
Counties
County data are spottier, but the Reason Foundation aggregates ACFRs for the largest counties:
Highest total unfunded retirement benefits: Los Angeles County, Cook County (Chicago), and Philadelphia—all deep-blue electorates. Several counties (often smaller or faster-growing suburban ones) report negative employee-benefit debt (surpluses).
Reason Foundation
A fair summary
States: On accrual measures that include pensions/OPEB, blue states, on average, carry higher long-term burdens; many red states show surpluses. Still, there are meaningful exceptions (e.g., blue Delaware/Washington enjoy top credit marks; some red states face pressures when commodity revenues dip).
Wikipedia
pewtrusts.org
Cities & counties: The worst burdens cluster in large, older, Democratic-run metros (NYC, Chicago, Philadelphia), consistent with legacy benefits and aging infrastructure. But there are blue exceptions in good shape (e.g., DC near the top) and red metros with burdens (e.g., several big Texas cities).
truthinaccounting.org
Governing
Annual “deficits”: Because of balanced-budget rules, year-to-year gaps are limited for both parties; the major differences show up in accrual liabilities and credit quality rather than cash-basis deficits.
Tax Policy Center
If you want the full breakdown
I can assemble a table that classifies all 50 states by 2024 result (red/blue) and lists each one’s TIA taxpayer surplus/burden, pension/OPEB share, and credit ratings, plus a second table for the 75 largest cities. Just say the word and I’ll produce it in a downloadable spreadsheet.
I actually agree with you, if you were just referring to the bozos in Washington, D.C. But a fairer statement would be the political class from both parties hasn't been fiscally responsible, except for Congressional Republicans and Clinton during his second term.
