Setting the Record Straight on West Virginia’s Pro-Growth Trajectory: Jonathan Williams in Charleston Gazette-Mail

The Charleston Gazette-Mail recently ran an op-ed written by Jonathan Williams, ALEC President & Chief Economist. In the piece, he argues that the plan to cut West Virginia’s income taxes would stimulate economic growth, reward work, and make the state more competitive with its neighboring states.

An editorial published by the Gazette-Mail on Feb. 3 brought up the often-misunderstood Kansas tax reforms of 2012 and 2013. It claimed that these reforms are a cautionary tale of “rebranded trickle-down economics” based on model policy from the American Legislative Exchange Council and that such policy led to a budget crisis and economic malaise in Kansas. Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s commonsense income tax cut proposals, it is suggested, would produce similar results. That is an incorrect conclusion based on an improper historical narrative of the experience in Kansas.

For 18 years, ALEC has published the Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index, which I co-author with Arthur B. Laffer and Steve Moore. Over those years, we’ve found that the states reducing tax rates and adopting other pro-growth policies increase their competitiveness, attract Americans who “vote with their feet,” and create economic opportunity.

If there’s a lesson for West Virginia policymakers to learn from Kansas, it’s not that tax cuts are doomed to fail — but that politicians must have the courage to match tax policy with commonsense restraint.

That 2012 Kansas tax reform effort began with a plan to reduce spending growth and provide offsetting revenue. During the political process, these balancing measures were removed. The tax cuts were enacted and spending continued to grow at an unsustainable rate. At the end of the day, there is no escaping the hard work that is needed in all state capitals to balance state budgets.

Read the full opinion piece here.