Recently I’ve been reporting more studies that rank CA the 2nd, 3rd or 4th worst in various fiscal comparisons with other states.  I imagine you are as sick of this dreary drumbeat as I am.

Good news!  Finally I found a study where California is not ranked in the top four – as in worst four.

. . .

Ya know, it’s not fair — youse Rostra readers just KNOW what’s coming next, don’t ya.  Bunch of smart asses.

Sigh.

To my point.  A new wonky academic study has been released, comparing the per household state and local government pension obligations.  It’s a grind to work through the 60+ pages of the study — even I didn’t read it all, or understand the actuarial math.

Let’s get to the bottom line.  As you weisenheimers cleverly deduced, CA is not in the worst four — but we are number five.

And here’s the figure to consider — if we make no reforms, then the average CA household will ANNUALLY owe $2,122.40: See Table A4 (the last page).

As the Big Spenders love to intone — “It’s only pennies per day!”  581 pennies per day, to be exact.

The range of the obligation by state is interesting.  The top obligation is owed by Ohio households — $2,552.90.  Then comes Oregon, New York and Illinois — with California bringing up the rear — of the top five.

Perhaps equally interesting is the pension cost increase for households in the least fiscally irresponsible (not necessarily fiscally responsible) states — Arizona, West Virginia, Arkansas, Utah and (the best) Indiana.  Households in these states owe amounts varying from $544 to $237 annually — about 1/4 to 1/9 the average annual CA household obligation.

1. Ms Right says:

   October 27, 2012 at 4:52 pm

   Hi Richard, can you add the Poway $1B bond to that number for the PUSD? I need to start saving pennies because that is how I’m going to pay the bills.
2. Patricia Madden says:

   October 31, 2012 at 2:47 pm

   Good job “Dick”.