In the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council’s (ALEC) first economic ranking of all 50 states, Iowa was ranked 27th, right in the middle of the pack thanks to a mix of good and bad economic policies. The report, RICH STATES, POOR STATES: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index, was a collaborative effort from authors Dr. Arthur Laffer, nationally recognized economist, and Stephen Moore of the Wall Street Journal.
Contributing to the state’s lackluster ranking were very high business and property taxes, an estate tax, and a bloated government bureaucracy. On the pro-economic growth side, Iowa has a relatively low sales taxes, low workers’ compensation costs, a solid tort liability system, and remains a right-to-work state.
“We clearly need to improve many of our economic polices in Iowa in order to attract businesses, and jobs. That is what is going to keep our youth in the state,” said State Rep. Sandy Greiner, R-Keota, ALEC’s Iowa State Chairman.
This story also cross-posted at Iowa Independent.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment