RIPEC: Education drives state spending

RIPEC RELEASED its annual report showing how Rhode Island spending compared with that of the other states. Education spending fueled total direct general expenditures. / COURTESY RHODE ISLAND PUBLIC EXPENDITURE COUNCIL
RIPEC RELEASED its annual report showing how Rhode Island spending compared with that of the other states. Education spending fueled total direct general expenditures. / COURTESY RHODE ISLAND PUBLIC EXPENDITURE COUNCIL

PROVIDENCE – Education spending fueled the Ocean State’s total direct general expenditures in 2012, according to the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council’s annual report, “How Rhode Island Expenditures Compare.”
At $8,844 for total direct general expenditures, Rhode Island ranked 16th highest nationally on a per capita basis and 26th highest as a share of personal income at $195.08, according to RIPEC.
The report, which provides information on state and local government expenditures in fiscal 2002 and fiscal 2012, the most recent year for which national data is available, compares Rhode Island’s spending with other states, as well as the national average released by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Rhode Island’s figures compare with national averages of $8,304 for total direct general expenditures on a per capita basis and $191.63 as a share of personal income.
Per capita refers to the amount of state and local expenditures divided by the number of residents in the state, while share of personal income refers to the amount of state and local expenditures expended per every $1,000 of personal income generated by residents.
Total direct general expenditures excludes expenditures for utilities, liquor stores, insurance trusts and intergovernmental spending.
Between fiscal 2002 and fiscal 2012, total spending for educational services and libraries increased from $64.82 per $1,000 of personal income to $66.55 per $1,000 of personal income in Rhode Island, an increase of 2.7 percent.
When education-related spending is measured on a per capita basis, Rhode Island’s total spending of $3,017 ranked the Ocean State 14th highest in the country in fiscal 2012. Among the New England states, Vermont ranked the highest at third with $3,823, followed by Connecticut at seventh at $3,461. Massachusetts was 15th at $3,014, and New Hampshire, 19th at $2,952 and Maine, 40th at $2,557.
The report said that New England devotes fewer state and local resources to higher education than the rest of the country, and said that in fiscal 2012, Rhode Island spent $14.17 per $1,000 of personal income on higher education, ranking the state 44th highest in the country. Again, Vermont topped the other New England states at $26.58, giving it a rank of seventh.
Elementary and secondary education spending also accounted for a greater share of total education spending in Rhode Island when compared with the national average in fiscal 2012 (69.2 percent in Rhode Island compared to 64.2 percent nationally). Rhode Island ranked 13th in that category.
In the public safety category, Rhode Island ranked seventh for per capita spending of $829, above the nationwide average of $724, and it ranked 11th for spending of $18.29 per $1,000 of personal income, above the national average of $16.70.
The Ocean State also ranked high on government administration and interest, third for per capita spending of $1,074 (compared with $748 nationally) and second for spending of $23.70 per $1,000 income (compared with $17.26 nationally).
Insurance trust spending, which falls into the category of other direct expenditures, ranked fourth for per capita spending of $1,705, versus $1,112 nationally, and second for $37.60 per $1,000 income, compared with $25.66 nationally.
Rhode Island ranked fifth in both categories for intergovernmental expenditures at $18 for per capita spending, above the national average of $13; and 39 cents per $1,000 of income, above 31 cents nationally.
However, transportation expenditures marked one area for which Rhode Island spends significantly below the national average, RPICS said.
In fiscal 2012, the state spent $9.23 per $1,000 of personal income (45th highest nationally) and $418 per capita (42nd highest) on highways.
The state’s expenditures for other transportation expenditures, which includes air transport, parking, and sea and inland port facilities, were below the national average (per $1,000 of personal income: $1.20 in Rhode Island compared with $2.13 nationally). Overall, combined transportation spending lags national averages on a personal income and per capita basis ($10.43 compared with $13.87; and $473 compared with $601, respectively).

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