But they do have huge pension liabilities which look like they will be pretty difficult to serve:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/24/usa-states-debt-id...

Also, aren't a lot of individual US cities in trouble?

http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16135233

Michael Lewis (author of The Big Short) in his latest book "Boomerang" takes a tour of the places involved in the ongoing financial crisis: Iceland, Greece, Ireland, Germany (as a "victim") and, last but not least, California and the city of Vallejo.