Posted on 05/19/2006 12:17:46 PM PDT by grundle
Jobs are flocking to low-tax states for a reason.
Individuals looking to open a new business, expand operations or market new products weigh the comparative costs and benefits of different locations. They evaluate local universities, transportation networks, labor skills, market size and even the weather. They also assess the policy climate. Economic freedom -- a favorable state tax, regulatory, and legal climate -- attracts entrepreneurs and capital, thereby increasing jobs and wages.
In 2005, per capita personal income grew 31% faster in the 15 most economically free states than it did in the 15 states at the bottom of the list. And employment growth was a staggering 216% higher in the most free states. It hasn't been a "jobless recovery" in states that have adopted pro-growth tax and regulatory policies.
Though typically tax cuts are opposed with the argument that slashing rates will force state revenue to fall, new data from the Nelson Rockefeller Institute shatters the myth that budget deficits are caused by supply-side policies. In 2005, the 15 states with the most economic freedom saw their general fund tax revenues grow at a rate more than 6% higher than the 15 least free states, despite their lower effective tax rate. Instead of blowing a hole in state budgets, lower tax rates rewarded productivity and risk-taking and allowed the economy to grow. As the economy expanded it also generated more revenue for the state Treasury as capital and people flowed in. Census data shows an astounding 245% difference in net state-to-state migration rates in 2005 between the freest states (net inflow) and least-free states (net outflow). "Live Free or Move" is fast becoming the national motto.
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
Boy what a shock! Low taxes, high employment!
Gee, how surprising!
I would have thought people wanted to go to high tax states!
I mean, afterall, aren't they socialist paradises like Cuba where everybody really wants to live?
bump
so states with the lowest unemployment rates should be the lowest taxed.
that is and isn't MN.
bttt
There's always an exception to the rule. Hawaii is one of the worse tax hells in the US yet it has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the US, for now. Hawaii's governor is a "moderate" Republican and the state legislature has been controlled by Dimocraps for over 40 years.
Gee, it would have been nice if the originating article had contained a link to the list they are talking about, so the REST of us could tell WHICH STATES specifically.
Alabama, one of the lowest tax states in the nation. Heard today that our unemployment rate is at 3.6%
Yes, I said THREE POINT SIX PERCENT for the entire state.
Unfortunately for me, I was born and raised here in Ohio...
We're screwed.
Looking at Figure 2, I'd say the Katrina evacuees who relocated to Texas from Dem-controlled New Orleans, Louisiana made a very smart move.
I should've stayed in Colorado. I'm back in my home state of #45 Pennsylvania. If the crooks who run this state could, they'd tax the air I breathe.
Ouch, I definitely see your point. The feeling of government intrusion must be palpable moving from a state ranked 2 on the Economic Freedom Index to a state ranked 45. It's almost like moving from the USA to a region of the former Soviet Union in the 1980's. I exaggerate some, but not by much.
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