A recent analysis of fiscal policy has ranked all 50 states, with Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds’ state coming in first and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz at the bottom of the list. The libertarian Cato Institute released the report, grading states based on spending, revenue, and taxes.
According to the report, the top ten states in the rankings are Iowa, Nebraska, West Virginia, Arkansas, South Dakota, Montana, Hawaii, Georgia, Idaho, and Vermont. On the other hand, the bottom ten states include New Mexico, Missouri, Oregon, Michigan, Wisconsin, Delaware, Washington, Maine, New York, and Minnesota, with the bottom six states receiving a grade of “F.”
Governor Walz’s poor rating comes just weeks before the presidential election, where he and his running mate Vice President Kamala Harris are in a tight race with former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Senator J.D. Vance. The report attributes Walz’s low score to a series of tax hikes under his leadership, as well as a significant increase in spending by 36% since 2022, from about $52 billion to nearly $71 billion.
In 2019, Walz proposed a budget that would have added $2 billion in new spending, with taxes increasing by $1.3 billion. He also pushed for higher gas taxes and vehicle fees to raise about $1 billion annually for transportation, but these increases were rejected. In 2021, Walz proposed more tax hikes, including a new individual income tax rate of 10.85%, a surtax on capital gains and dividends, and an increase in the corporate tax rate. These proposals, which would have raised about $1.6 billion annually, were also rejected.
Furthermore, Walz implemented tax increases on the middle class, including raising taxes and fees on vehicles and transportation. These increases included indexing the gas tax for inflation, raising vehicle registration taxes, increasing fees on deliveries, and raising sales taxes in the Twin Cities area.
Overall, Governor Walz’s fiscal record has been met with criticism, as his tax hikes and spending increases have led to Minnesota being ranked last in the recent analysis of fiscal policy.
