In the News

How Missouri Can Improves Its Economic Outlook: Jonathan Williams on The Marc Cox Show

Going back to basics of budgeting 101, you have to tax what you spend and spend what you tax.

Jonathan Williams, ALEC Executive Vice President of Policy and Chief Economist, was on with host Marc Cox of 97.1 FM Talk of St. Louis discussing how Missouri can improve its economic ranking and performance based on the recommendations in 17th edition of “Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index.”

There’s something to be said about the fact that while Missouri is middle of the pack at 29… there’s a lot better that states can be doing with that kind of majority right now.

We have a consistent time series to go back to see how states have done not only today, but what they’ve done 17 years ago. One of the really interesting takeaways that should be a motivator for folks in Jeff City that are looking to turn Missouri around and really compete with the elite states today for jobs and capital for individuals moving from state to state as people vote with their feet, is that Missouri in the early years of our ranking system had been in the top 10 in our rankings.

All the other states that are currently in the top 10 have been moving dramatically in the right direction. Missouri however has fallen behind by standing still or making slight improvements here or there, not the type of improvement that will keep Missouri in the top tier of states. So, there’s a lot of work to be done in Jeff City.

Listen to the full interview.