Free Republic

California dreamin’? Flying in the face of traditional wisdom that we live on the best coast comes a stinging new U.S. News & World Report study that says we have the worst quality of life in the nation. The coveted Best States ranking is part of an annual study that scores all 50 states on eight categories — health care, education, economy, opportunity, infrastructure, crime and corrections, fiscal stability and the most important of all for most of us, quality of life. Sadly, Californians are in the pits by this life-quality metric, with the Golden State taking last place at...

50. Florida When putting together a list such as this, there can be some temptation to defy popular expectations, and go against the grain. However, Florida’s awfulness resume is so staggeringly impressive that it couldn’t go any other way. You were born for this. Embrace it. 49. Delaware Dogfish Head, one of the most enduring jokes from Wayne’s World, and… that about covers it. Even people from Delaware don’t really fight back all that hard when you make fun of Delaware. 48. Ohio Getting LeBron back only further cemented its position as the Florida of the North.

A map of the U.S. shows the states where residents were the most and least likely to say they had recently donated to charity.Gallup There are only two U.S. states where at least 50 percent of residents say they've recently given either money or time to charity: Utah and Minnesota, according to a new Gallup poll. Nevada and Kentucky tied for the lowest rate of charitable giving.The poll was conducted in the last six months of 2013, when at least 600 residents of each state were asked whether they had donated money to a charity or volunteered at an...

Throughout the country, states are looking for ways to energize their economies and become more competitive. Each state confronts this task with a set of policy decisions unique to their own situation, but not all state policies lead to economic prosperity. Using years of economic data and empirical evidence from each state, the authors identify which policies can lead a state to economic prosperity. Rich States, Poor States not only identifies these policies but also makes sound research-based conclusions about which states are poised to achieve greater economic prosperity and those that are stuck on the path to a lackluster...

Since 2008, Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index has used the latest economic data to determine which states are doing well and which states are struggling. The past 50 years of data point to a clear connection between pro-growth policies of lower taxes, less regulations and competitive labor policies. The states that embrace free markets and limited government fare much better than their high-tax, big government counterparts. Utah, South Dakota, Indiana, North Dakota and Idaho—this year’s top five states—showcase how good economic policy can lead to economic prosperity, while New York, Vermont, Illinois, California and Minnesota—the bottom...

With the current relatively generous federal estate tax exemption of $5.25 million for 2013 and $5.34 million for 2014, you surely don't have any estate tax worries. Right? Not necessarily! It turns out that 19 states and the District of Columbia impose their own estate and/or inheritance taxes, and most of them have exemptions well below the federal amount. If you live in one of these places, your estate might be exempt from the federal estate tax but still exposed to a significant state death tax hit. Yikes! Here's what you need to know.

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How well run is your state? It can be difficult to objectively assess the quality of a state’s management. The economy and standard of living can be affected by decisions made decades ago, forces outside the control of the state’s government and administrators, as well as the government's own actions. Every year, 24/7 Wall St. tries to answer this question by conducting an extensive survey of every state. To determine how well states are managed, we examined their financial data, as well as the services they provide and their residents' standard of living. This year, North Dakota is the best-run...

Yesterday we published a set of maps that came from a survey about what Americans think of other states. Essentially, each respondent was asked to answer a question with a state that wasn't their own, like which state is the drunkest, the nicest, the most arrogant. We looked at the data and decided to compress the 22 maps into one map. (click to enlarge) On this map, every state that won a superlative — first place in any question — has its claims to fame in bolded print. For instance, Colorado was the top vote getter in the Most Beautiful scenery category. 

In its ninth annual survey of CEO opinion about the best and worst states in which to do business, 736 CEOs—the highest response on record—rendered their verdict. Business leaders were asked to grade states with which they are familiar on a variety of competitive metrics that CEOs themselves regard as critical. These include: 1) taxation and regulation; 2) quality of workforce; and 3) living environment. The tax and regulatory grade includes a measure of how CEOs grade a state’s attitude toward business, a key indicator. In the minds of most leaders, a state’s friendliness is closely aligned with its tax...

Burdensome taxes and regulations, further taxes disguised as fees, and a reputation as a nanny state have finally reaped rewards for New York State: They’ve been heralded by a George Mason University study as the worst state in the nation for such things as fiscal, regulatory, and personal freedoms. Here are the final rankings: Fiscal Freedom – 50th Regulatory Freedom – 47th Personal Freedom – 48th Overall Freedom – 50th Via the New York Post: New York’s big government — with its hands deep in taxpayers’ pockets and regulations controlling everyone’s lives — has made the Empire State the worst...

Sometimes I myopically focus on fiscal policy, implying that the key to prosperity is small government.But I’ll freely admit that growth if maximized when you have small government AND free markets.That being said, our goal should be to expand freedom, not merely to have the largest possible GDP.Which is why the Freedom Index is a good complement to Economic Freedom of the World.It shows, for instance, that Singapore may be ranked #2 for economic freedom, but it is only #39 when you look at all freedoms.We also have a comprehensive ranking of economic and personal freedom for the 50 states.Here...

...None other than the legislative haunt of Gov. Andrew “confiscation could be an option” Cuomo and loathsome nanny-state Mayor Bloomberg, of course. George Mason University's Mercatus Center just released the third edition of their comprehensive "Freedom in the Fifty States" study, ranking "the American states based on how their policies promote freedom in the fiscal, regulatory, and personal realms." The researchers calculated in factors ranging from the states’ levels of government spending and debt, tax burden, property rights protection, and health insurance freedom all the way to their policies on alcohol, tobacco, gambling, marriage, and firearms. North Dakota, South Dakota,...

Americans are migrating from less-free liberal states to more-free conservative states, where they are doing better economically, according to a new study published Thursday by the George Washington University's Mercatus Center. The "Freedom in the 50 States" study measured economic and personal freedom using a wide range of criteria, including tax rates, government spending and debt, regulatory burdens, and state laws covering land use, union organizing, gun control, education choice and more.

If you could live in any state in America, where would you go? During troubled times like these, what is the best place in the United States to live? A lot of people are asking these kinds of questions these days. Our economy is on the verge of collapse, natural disasters are becoming more frequent and more intense, the U.S. population is becoming angrier and more frustrated by the day, our government has become incredibly oppressive and controlling, war could break out at any time and evidence that society is breaking down is all around us. As our world...

Texas has done it again. The Lone Star State makes a triumphant return as America’s Top State for Business—its third time at the top of our rankings. “Listen, there is a reason that Caterpillar [CAT 80.27 -2.87 (-3.45%) ] moved their hydraulics manufacturing and their engine manufacturing to the state of Texas,” said Gov. Rick Perry in November during the CNBC Republican presidential debate. We can attest to that. In our sixth annual study, Texas racked up an impressive 1,604 points out of a possible 2,500, with top-10 finishes in six of our 10 categories of competitiveness. Texas has never...

Where you live can have a big impact on how much you pay in taxes each year. The spread, according to numbers crunched by the nonprofit Tax Foundation, might not be enough to make you pull up stakes and move to a new state, but it can give you a case of tax envy. The state and local burden ranges from 6.4% (Alaska) to 13% (Maine).

CONCORD, N.H. - Morgan Quitno Press has named New Hampshire the ``Most Livable State'' for the second consecutive year. Like last year, the Granite State passed Minnesota to take the top spot. Vermont held at third, while Massachusetts ranked seventh, Connecticut 14th, Maine 15th and Rhode Island 23rd. The 2005 award is based on 44 factors. They include median household income, the crime rate and job growth. "1" is Most Livable, "50" is Not 2005 MOST LIVABLE STATE AWARD ALPHA ORDER   RANK ORDER 2005 RANK STATE LIVABILITY RATING 2004 RANK* CHANGE   2005 RANK STATE LIVABILITY RATING 2004 RANK*...