VIDEO: Rich States, Poor States on Wall Street Journal Live

Today, Jonathan Williams, Vice President for the Center for State Fiscal Reform at the American Legislative Exchange Council, discussed the 2015 Rich States Poor States rankings with Mary Kissel on The Wall Street Journal Opinion Live.

Williams discussed what makes a state economically competitive and attractive for human and investment capital. He explained the lessons that can be learned from Utah, which has taken the top spot for economic outlook in every one of the report’s 8 editions. He also explained why states like New Jersey, California, and New York remain in the bottom of the national rankings.

Rich States Poor States examines the latest trends in state economic growth. The report includes economic outlook rankings which uses 15 equally weighed policy variables, including tax policies, regulatory burdens, and labor policies. The ranking measures the health of a state’s economy and its prospect for growth in the future. The 2015 Rich States, Poor States rankings can be accessed at www.alec.org/rsps.