Washington’s economy makes competitive gains – study
Published 11:02 am Thursday, April 16, 2009
Mirror, mirror on the wall: Which is the most competitive state of all?
Not Washington.
Or, at least, not according to a report released by the American Legislative Exchange Council.
However, the study finds that Washington’s economic competitiveness has improved. The group ranks Washington’s economy as the 22nd most competitive in the nation, up from 30th place last year.
The even better news? The state didn’t have to pay $250,000 for the study, as it did for an aerospace competitiveness study released last week as part of Washington’s efforts to keep Boeing here.
The ALEC study says Washington has remained regionally competitive due to its lack of a personal income tax.
But, the study says, “poor labor policies and the presence of a state ‘death tax’ hurt Washington’s economic outlook. Also of particular concern is the state’s rapid accumulation of debt from years of borrowing.”
However, Washington still lags behind states like Texas, North and South Carolina and Alabama. Those states should sound familiar. Those are some of the states that aerospace leaders have identified as possible rivals for Boeing’s second 787 production line.
Readers still give Washington a slight edge over Texas in our poll:
