West Virginia Economic Rankings, North Carolina Veto Override, and TABOR Defense in Colorado: Jonathan Williams on The Hugh Hewitt Show
"We've seen about 30 states already opt in, and North Carolina was a holdout because of Governor Stein's veto."
Hugh Hewitt spoke with ALEC President and Chief Economist Jonathan Williams about West Virginia’s economic ranking by Wallet Hub, North Carolina’s recent veto override to approve the federal education freedom tax credit, and the latest in the ongoing battle to preserve the Colorado Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR).
“The devil is in the details, and Wallet Hub is looking backwards, where Rich States, Poor States is looking forwards when it comes to the rankings,” Williams noted. “There’s no doubt West Virginia has been a state that’s been hurting for decades. The key difference, though, is when you look at what policymakers are actually in control of—the tax policy, regulatory climate, and education policy—West Virginia is moving in the right direction.”
“People are voting with their feet and moving to West Virginia on net from the other 49 states,” Williams remarked. “They’re taking note of the great work that Governor Patrick Morrisey and the legislators are doing on education freedom and tax cuts and making West Virginia more competitive.”
Williams then explained North Carolina’s recent legislative victories, including overriding Governor Stein’s veto of the Trump Education Freedom Tax Credit.
“We’ve seen about 30 states already opt in, and North Carolina was a holdout because of Governor Stein’s veto,” Williams said. “Thankfully, cooler heads did prevail, and you had the legislature override that veto, which now opens up that amazing opportunity for taxpayers in the state, but moreover, the scholarship-granting organizations and those private institutions in the state that will now be able to take those dollars and use that on the ground in North Carolina in the future.”
Hewitt brought up Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR), as Williams expressed hope that Colorado will continue to preserve TABOR, which has helped the state avoid becoming “California East.”
“The Taxpayer Bill of Rights, really the gold standard protection against overtaxing and overspending,” Williams emphasized. “Let’s hope these efforts to repeal it fail once again so Colorado doesn’t lose that inherent advantage that they’ve had for more than 30 years.”