...The 2014 economic outlook ranking, ALEC said in a release, “is a forward-looking measure of how each state can expect to perform economically based on 15 policy areas that have proven, over time, to be the best determinants of economic success.” States that are looking “to become more competitive” would be wise, the study says, to embrace the policies that “have proven to lead to economic prosperity.” In 2013, 17 states cut taxes, with Indiana, Michigan, and North Carolina – all of which have had Republican governors at least since 2012 – “leading the charge to vastly improve their overall economic outlooks.”
On the other side of the ledger, say the study’s authors, the high tax states of Illinois, New York and California – “once economic powerhouses” – have continued their long trips down the ladder of economic health thanks to poor management, generous giveaways to public employee unions, crushing regulations on business and, of course, a tax burden that is simply out of control.
The top ten states in terms of economic outlook are, in rank order: Utah, South Dakota, Indiana, North Dakota, Idaho, North Carolina, Arizona, Nevada, Georgia and Wyoming. At the bottom, again in rank order, are Rhode Island, Oregon, Montana, Connecticut, New Jersey, Minnesota, California, Illinois, Vermont and, in last place, New York.
Interestingly, Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey, is the lone Republican to have a state in the bottom quintile. This fact alone might cause members of the GOP to rethink their plans to promote him as a candidate for president in 2016.
The study also ranks states by current economic performance in what the authors call “a backward-looking measure based on a state’s performance on three important variables: State Gross Domestic Product, Absolute Domestic Migration, and Non-Farm Payroll Employment, all of which are highly influenced by state policy. This ranking details states’ individual performances over the past 10 years based on this economic data." The top ten by this measure are, in rank order: Texas, Utah, Wyoming, North Dakota, Montana, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Oklahoma and Idaho.
With Washington, D.C., mired in a morass of taxes, spending and borrowing, it might make sense at this juncture to look to the states for ideas that might help get the national economy moving again. Texas, Utah, Wyoming and North Dakota can’t carry the burden all by themselves, no matter how well they are doing.
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