Grading Governors
by Kate Piercy Some Governors have adjusted to the economic realities of the last few years better than others. How has our Governor responded? According to the Cato Institute’s 10th biennial survey of the best and worst Governors on fiscal issues, not well. Who were the stars and who were the slackers? The Wall Street Journal reports: The Cato...
by Kate Piercy
Some Governors have adjusted to the economic realities of the last few years better than others. How has our Governor responded?
According to the Cato Institute’s 10th biennial survey of the best and worst Governors on fiscal issues, not well.
Who were the stars and who were the slackers?
The Wall Street Journal reports:
The Cato report card gives the lowest grades to Governors who proposed or enacted the biggest tax and spending increases, while Governors who cut or held the line on taxes and reduced spending go to the head of the class. Raising income and business taxes are the most harmful to a state economy—Exhibits A and B would be New York and California—so Governors who raised those taxes were heavily penalized. The nearby table shows the list of the Governors who earned grades of A and F.
Tax-hikers – those who put their states at a competitive disadvantage with other states by burdening employers and workers – received poor grades. Chris Edwards, author of Cato’s survey, writes:
Many states have raised taxes the past two years, which has hurt families and businesses at a time when they are already struggling because of the slow economy. Across the 50 states, recent tax increases have been by far the largest in many years. Many states raised taxes even though the federal government showered them with billions of dollars of added funding in last year’s “stimulus” bill.
America needs a lot more “A” governors to face these fiscal challenges and make the needed tax and spending reforms.
For the whole Cato report, click here.