In his State of the State address, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton (D) referenced our 2012 State Business Tax Climate Index, trumpeting that his state isn’t doing too badly economically despite its low score or its lack of a “right-to-work” law: The 2012 State Business Tax Climate Index ranked Minnesota only 45th among the states. The top five were: Wyoming, South Dakota, Nevada, Alaska, and Florida. All, except for Alaska, are “Right-to-Work” states. Last month, however, Minnesota’s unemployment rate was lower than 4 of those 5 states. During the past two years, our growth in average hourly earnings equaled the best and beat the rest. Our per-capita income was 2nd highest. We’re doing something right. Dayton’s remarks come on the heels of a speech by the President of the Minneapolis Fed, who argued that the state has weathered the recession better than other states. While Dayton’s reference may be a backhanded comment, it’s worth noting that the state is next door to bottom-ten Wisconsin and Iowa, and plunged-12-ranks-Illinois. Tax Foundation work has been cited in 7 State of the State addresses this year; in the last three years, we’ve been cited in 20 State of the State addresses in 13 states by 15 different governors (9 Republican and 6 Democratic).
