Study shows Indiana debt nation's 3rd lowest

If every Indiana resident under government jurisdiction found $5,700 worth of loose change under their couch cushions and gave it to the state, Indiana’s debt would be paid, according to a recent study released by State Budget Solutions.

The study reported Indiana has the third-lowest per capita debt in the country, meaning it would take about $5,700 from each resident to get the state out of debt.

The number is less than half the national average of about $13,400.

The figures come from State Budget Solutions’ state debt report for 2012, combined with annual estimates of the resident population from the United States Census Bureau to calculate the debt per capita.

A project of the nonprofit organization Sunshine Review, State Budget Solutions is an organization advocating fundamental reform.

The organization draws its numbers from the “Ratio of outstanding debt by type” section of each state’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the most recent fiscal year.

In the website’s description, State Budget Solutions says it is non-partisan.
As for other facts about where Indiana’s economy stands, at the end of the 2012 fiscal year, Indiana had $2.155 billion in reserves, according to a press release from Gov. Mitch Daniels’ office.

Daniels announced Thursday $360 million of the surplus from the state reserves will be divided among five employee pension offices.
 
During the Daniels administration, Indiana has repaid more than $750 million of its debt owed to schools, universities and local governments, according to the release.

This low per capita debt shows Daniels’ efforts throughout the last few years, President of State Budget Solutions Bob Williams said.

“One of the things (Daniels) pointed out is that money doesn’t solve the problem, it’s how the money is being spent,” Williams said.

He said the tendency of many states is to push the debt off to future generations instead of making necessary cuts.

“We cite Indiana as being one of the leaders in best budget practices for other states to follow,” Williams said.