The American Legislative Exchange Council has just released the second edition of their great publication Rich States, Poor States, a detailed evaluation of state fiscal and economic policies and their ramifications.
As can be clearly seen – low tax, pro-growth states like Utah have the highest gross state product and income growth, whereas high taxing anti-business states like New York have the lowest. Taxpayers have voted with their feet: 3.5 million tax refugees have fled just New York and California in the last decade, taking refuge in taxpayer havens like Florida.
This report is further evidence of what ATR has been saying all along – the worst thing any government can do for its state is to raise taxes. After years of overspending, the size of government must be reduced for states to once again flourish.
This report is yet another nail in the coffin of the failed big government policies of the past.