Subscriber Special - Forbes study uses OpenTheBooks data

December 28, 2015 11:57 AM

Forbes study uses OpenTheBooks data

Does your state have more takers than makers? Check it out.

William Baldwin | Forbes Finance Journalist

Editor of Forbes Magazine (1999-2010)

WHICH ARE DEATH SPIRAL STATES?

By William Baldwin | Forbes | December 22, 2015

William Baldwin scored each of the 50 States using his 'FeedMe' ratio: state clients (number of public pensions, public employees, and welfare recipients) vs. private sector workers (taxed to pay for it all).

Visit the Interactive Map at Forbes. What's your state's FeedMe score? (Six states score over 100 – meaning 'takers' exceed 'makers.')

FORBES INTERACTIVE MAP - features the FeedMe Ratio plus a

'Fast Fact' on state and local spending in each of the 50 States

from our online database at OpenTheBooks.com.

Sources: OpenTheBooks, Forbes

Here are samples of state FeedMe scores and OpenTheBooks facts:

Illinois - score 81.5: By 2017, at least 10,000 retired educators will be getting $100,000 pensions.

New York - score 108.3: Ten Port Authority cops got $309,000 or more in pay in 2014. A librarian in Queens got $391,594, and an elevator mechanic supervisor for the city got $346,427.

California - score 114.3: In Newport Beach, lifeguard compensation ranges up to $211,912.

Florida - score 69.2: A City of Apopka manager got $510,296 in final year compensation and then started collecting two city pensions.

A score over 100 means that there are more 'takers' than 'makers.'

Across America, we investigated state and local spending captured within our database at OpenTheBooks.com. Then, we provided the 'fast fact' for each of the 50 States.

What did we miss? Search our state-by-state data at OpenTheBooks.com, or use our mobile app, Open The Books. It's free in the App Store and Google Play store.

Check out your state. Read William Baldwin's Forbes 50 State Study, 'Which are Death Spiral States?'

Stay tuned. OpenTheBooks has more cool stuff coming in early 2016!

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Subscriber Special - Forbes study uses OpenTheBooks data