Oregon & Washington Have Nation’s "Worst Governors"

September 30, 2010

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Cato has the full rankings here. 

Raising income and business taxes are the most harmful to a state economy—Exhibits A and B would be New York and California—so Governors who raised those taxes were heavily penalized. The nearby table shows the list of the Governors who earned grades of A and F.

Here’s the Wall Street Journal piece on the best and worst governors and the following is excerpted from the Cato study about Kulo and Gregoire:

• Ted Kulongoski of Oregon has been relentless in his advocacy of tax and spending increases. In 2003, he supported a ballot initiative to increase income taxes, but the plan was defeated by the voters. He has repeatedly pushed cigarette tax increases, even though voters defeated such an increase at the ballot box in 2007. In 2009,  Kulongoski signed into law increases in gasoline taxes, hospital taxes, and business taxes, and he proposed more cigarette tax increases. In 2010, the governor pushed hard for an increase in personal and corporate income tax rates, and that increase was unfortunately approved by the voters. Oregon is blessed by not having a general sales tax, but Kulongoski has advocated imposing one on the state. Under Kulongoski, general fund spending soared 42 percent  between FY03 and FY08, and unlike many governors he has not cut spending very much since then.

 And about Gregoire:

Chris Gregoire of Washington has supported many large tax increases over the years. In 2005, she raised taxes on cigarettes, gasoline, liquor, and vehicles, and she reestablished an estate tax after a previous version was struck down by the state supreme court. In the boom years before 2008, Gregoire blocked efforts to cut taxes. While campaigning for reelection in 2008, Gregoire argued in favor of spending cuts rather than tax increases to balance the budget. But once reelected, she approved a large tax-hike package including increases in business taxes, sales taxes, cigarette taxes, beer taxes, and candy taxes. Gregoire seems always to take the big-government side in referendum issues before voters. She has opposed ballot efforts to cap government budget growth and to require legislative supermajorities to raise taxes.

Tell ’em where you saw it. Http://www.victoriataft.com