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Utah Has Best Economic Climate in Country, New York Worst: ALEC on Fox News

Rich States, Poor States provides more powerful evidence that the low tax, light regulation states are bleeding the high tax states dry.

ALEC Chief Economist and Executive Vice President of Policy Jonathan Williams was featured alongside economists Arthur Laffer and Stephen Moore in a Fox News article highlighting Utah’s number one ranking in the latest edition of Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index. 

“The annual “Rich States, Poor States” report, authored by economists Stephen Moore, Arthur Laffer, and Jonathan Williams, calculated each state’s economic outlook by taking into account 15 variables — such as its taxes, minimum wage, policies toward unions, and quality of legal system — to create a final ranking. The authors noted that each variable is directly influenced by state lawmakers through the legislative process.”

“‘Rich States, Poor States’ provides more powerful evidence that the low tax, light regulation states are bleeding the high tax states dry,” said Moore, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation. “Utah has been number one for 14 years because of its solid pro-business policy regime. If states like New York, California, and Illinois don’t change their taxing and regulating ways, they will continue to shrink into economic oblivion. These states have lost more than 5 million people over the last decade.”

Read the full article here.