State Governors Report Card on Economic Policy

Hey, wait a minute! What about Scott Walker in Wisconsin? He turned the state around in an environment infested with hard core progressive socialist liberal Democrats. He can't help but be an A as he is a Conservative.

I wonder how many of the losers with the F rating are Democrats and how many of the winners with the A rating are Conservatives? Quinn is a progressive for sure as Illinois is the worst state next to California but not listed. Washington has to be a progressive Democrat as does Connecticut, the north East. And Minnesota is Democrat to. Who knew - all Democrats with a big fat F!!!

And all of the winners are Republicans - again- who knew?

Fiscal Policy Report Card on America's Governors: 2012
Source: Chris Edwards, "Fiscal Policy Report Card on America's Governors: 2012," Cato Institute, October 9, 2012.

October 11, 2012
The recovery from the recent recession has been very sluggish, and the nation's governors have struggled with the resulting budget deficits, unemployment and other economic problems in their states. Many reform-minded governors elected in 2010 have championed tax reforms and spending restraint to get their states back on track. Other governors have expanded government with old-fashioned tax-and-spend policies, says Chris Edwards, director of tax policy studies at the Cato Institute.

That is the backdrop to the Cato Institute's 11th biennial fiscal report card on the governors, which examines state budget actions since 2010. It uses statistical data to grade the governors on their taxing and spending records -- governors who have cut taxes and spending the most receive the highest grades, while those who have increased taxes and spending the most receive the lowest grades.

Four governors were awarded an "A" in this report card:

•Sam Brownback of Kansas.
•Rick Scott of Florida.
•Paul LePage of Maine.
•Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania.

Five governors were awarded an "F":

•Pat Quinn of Illinois.
•Dan Malloy of Connecticut.
•Mark Dayton of Minnesota.
•Neil Abercrombie of Hawaii.
•Chris Gregoire of Washington.

Many states are facing major fiscal problems in coming years. Rising debt and growing health and pension costs threaten tax increases down the road. At the same time, intense global economic competition makes it imperative that states improve their investment climates. To that end, some governors are pursuing broad-based tax reforms, such as cutting income tax rates and reducing property taxes on businesses. The bad news is that many governors are expanding narrow "tax incentives," which clutter the tax code in an attempt to micromanage the economy.