[Hoot Gibson]

Different rankings by economists (two of the three authors of the study linked by Twin Ticks were not economists) will yield different results. However, the state of California has a bill pending, Assembly Bill 2088, introduced in August of 2020, known as the California Wealth Tax, which would tax wealthy people who choose to leave the state for 10 years after they have left the state. 

Any study that ranks California's economy high among states is a joke. States with booming economies do not need to pursue taxes from non-residents who flee a state for greener pastures.

Report: Red States Have the Best Economies

The 14th issue of the report from the American Legislative Exchange Council lauds states that follow conservative economic policies.

Utah, Florida and Oklahoma – states that favor low tax and spending policies – come out on top in the latest ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index released on Wednesday.

States that fare the worst – New York, Vermont and New Jersey – are those that have high state income taxes and large government-funded programs, according to the "Rich States, Poor States" report from the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative think tank.

One component of the index, the economic outlook ranking, evaluates states based on 15 factors that are closely influenced by state policies. "Generally speaking, states that spend less — especially on income transfer programs — and states that tax less — particularly on productive activities such as working or investing — experience higher growth rates than states that tax and spend more," the report notes.

The state rankings from the above link are as follows:

1st Utah 
2nd Florida 
3rd Oklahoma
4th Wyoming
5th North Carolina
6th Indiana
7th Nevada
8th North Dakota
9th Texas
10th South Dakota
11th Idaho
12th Tennessee
13th Arizona
14th Georgia
15th Wisconsin
16th Michigan
17th Virginia
18th Alaska
19th New Hampshire
20th Colorado
21st Missouri
22nd Louisiana
23rd Arkansas
24th South Carolina
25th Alabama
26th Kansas
27th Mississippi
28th Ohio
29th Kentucky
30th Massachusetts
31st Delaware
32nd West Virginia
33rd Iowa
34th Montana
35th Nebraska
36th Pennsylvania
37th Washington
38th New Mexico
39th Connecticut
40th Maryland
41st Rhode Island
42nd Hawaii
43rd Maine
44th Oregon
45th California
46th Minnesota
47th Illinois
48th New Jersey
49th Vermont
50th New York

Quooter Red states are takers and Blue states are makers. This has already been settled.

More punctuation and correctly spelled words. You are really slipping, Twin Ticks. As for your "point," wishing something was true does not, in fact, make it true.

States like California and New York were blessed with great ports and natural resources. Unfortunately, they are chasing away many of their most productive citizens with bad economic policies. People are voting with their feet and their U-Hauls. It takes time for wealthy individuals and corporations to pull up roots and move, but the exodus from blue states to red states has begun. Those are the facts.

CFvector makes all of his political choices 'at' the right and in spite of the evidence. Conservatives know this and tend not to put any stock in the things lefties say because they know the left's anti-logic is based in mindless contempt. And since the left cannot argue and hurl personal insults at truth, they go nuclear on conservatives for waving truth under their nose. Lefties on the other hand don't put any stock in what conservatives say because of that little war going on within themselves. Thus the impasse. Since the left's political motivations are always and only based in contempt of truth; All more truth will do is increase their resistance to same.

What is difficult to understand about people like the socialists who post in this forum is that they have embraced these wacky, far left wing Democrat positions despite growing up and living in eastern Kentucky, surrounded by relatively conservative families and neighbors. What life experiences in eastern Kentucky could compel somebody to adopt a radical socialist political agenda?

My immersion into a very liberal area has convinced me that the liberals' political agenda does not work when it is put into action. Because of the massive federal spending in this area and high paying jobs, the quality of life is generally very good in northern Virginia. However, even here, the kooky things that local government and public schools try to implement a great deal of friction and controversy. The Fairfax County government and its school district are regularly featured in national media stories that strike me as bizarre and would have struck me as even more bizarre had I never left eastern Kentucky. The most recent example was a teacher being removed from a local school because he refused to address children by their "preferred pronouns." A court has ordered the school to put him back to work in the classroom.