I found both of these at iOTW:
Thinking about buying a house? Or a municipal bond? Be careful where you put your capital. Don’t put it in a state at high risk of a fiscal tailspin.
Eleven states make our list of danger spots for investors. They can look forward to a rising tax burden, deteriorating state finances and an exodus of employers. The list includes California, New York, Illinois and Ohio, along with some smaller states like New Mexico and Hawaii.”
And this from Entrepreneur: “Which State Is Best for Small Business?”
These lists show us which state’s governments have been planning on our federal government to bail their economies out. You know it’s going to happen, too.
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What’s the deal with Iowa? WTF?
Like Michigan, the city liberals outweigh the country conservatives. Michigan still has more “net producers” than consumers. Makers v takers. Iowa is in better shape because they don’t have Detroit, Flint, and Grand Rapids.
I don’t know. Last year, in the linked Forbes study below, they had Iowa as tenth best. We usually come in near the bottom in labor supply and in growth prospects. We are a rural state and it has had a pretty stable population for 30 years. We have an older average population as well.
We always rate high on quality of life and low number of state regulations, however. Iowa has a balanced budget and a fully funded public pension system. The official unemployment rate in Iowa is 5.2 percent. We have a Republican governor and a Republican state legislature.
http://www.forbes.com/special-report/2011/best-states-11_land.html
If we suck because we are old, rural and stable, I can live with that.
I have to tell you, however, any scale that lists Illinois as better than Iowa has some pretty fucking serious flaws built into its methodology.
Wow. No shit. I didn’t even notice that. They obviously interviewed small business owners in the southern part of the state of Illinois.
RD, that’s what I understood. Oklahoma like Iowa has a balanced budget, but unlike Iowa, our pension boondoggle is not fully funded.
OK A-plus?
Iowa C-minus?
On the top table, South Carolina is a “Death Spiral” state. On the map it is rated an A-. Four Death Spiral states are better graded than Iowa which isn’t a Death Spiral state.
While New Mexico or Mississippi are further down the Taker/Maker list than California or New York, California, New York, Illinois, and Ohio have vastly greater populations. If New Mexico has a T/M ratio of 1.53 and a population of 2.08 mil, then it’s take rate is 3.19 mil. If California has a T/M ratio of 1.39 and a population of 37.69 mil, then it’s take ratio is a whopping 52.39 mil.
Roy – All I see is “numbers, numbers, blaaaaah! headache!”