By Angela Hatton
Nashville, TN – Governor Phil Bredesen praises a national ranking that put Tennessee at the bottom of all states and Washington, D.C., for debt load. The ranking shows that for its size, Tennessee has less debt than any other state government. Online news aggregator The Daily Beast compiled the rankings from the U-S Census. Bredesen tells WPLN-FM the state's long tradition of using cash rather than credit has kept the state from feeling the effects of lower tax revenues over the past two years. While Tennessee hasn't borrowed money for day-to-day expenses, the state has used savings to balance the budget. And the state has used bonds to accelerate a multiyear bridge repair plan. Kentucky came in 23 in the debt rankings, and Illinois took 15th on the list.