The California state legislature has adopted almost every loony liberal idea floating around, and even some that aren’t floating around. Why, last year the state Senate even passed a single-payer health care system for the state—as if a state could even do that given all the health insurance coverage that comes under federal law—at a cost of a mere $120 billion. And that’s when the state already had a deficit of $20 billion.
Texas, by contrast, got through last year’s legislative session with no tax increase and billions of dollars left in its rainy day fund.
Fiscal foolishness does not go unnoticed—by businesses or residents.
Chief Executive recently released its annual survey of the “Best and Worst Places for Business 2010.” The magazine surveyed 651 CEOs across the country to get their opinions. Texas came in first, with North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Nevada following.
To no one’s surprise, except perhaps for the state’s Senate, California came in dead last, with New York, Michigan, New Jersey and Massachusetts also in the bottom five.
Seven of the top 10 best states are southern states. And eight of the worst 10 are northern, but mostly northeastern, states.
The Tax Foundation also recently published a publication, which ranks the tax burden in each state. Guess what: Those CEOs identified as the worst states largely correspond to the highest taxed states.
Four of the Tax Foundation’s 10 lowest taxed states are among the CEO’s top 10 for business, and several of those that didn’t make the top 10 are close to it.
But eight of the Tax Foundation’s highest taxed states are among the CEO’s worst 10 environments for business. Those states are dragging down their citizens and the country.
In a year when the public is mad and pushing back against fiscal responsibility, it’s time for the high taxed, big-spending sates to get their fiscal houses in order. And quite trying to blame their state’s plight on everything, and everyone, else. The solution is not excuses but sound economic policies.