If Republicans are really so conservative, then in places where Republicans are in political control the tax burden should be lower. Right?
Well, thanks to new data from a conservative thinktank, The Tax Foundation, we can test that hypothesis. For each of the 50 states, the Tax Foundation measures the amount of state and local taxation as a proportion of state income. Then the Tax Foundation ranked the 50 states from 1-50 with #1 being the highest-taxed state as a proportion of state income, and #50 being the least-taxed state as a proportion of state income.
(See for yourself: http://taxfoundation.org/statelocal.html)
FACT:
The average rank of states with a Democratic Governor is 26.7, while the average rank of states with a Republican Governor is 24.6.
That means if you want conservative tax policy, you have to vote for a democratic governor.
States whose upper and lower houses are controlled by Democrats have an average Tax Foundation ranking of 21.3. A state whose upper legislative house is controlled by Republicans, however, has an average Tax Foundation ranking of 20.9. In other words, the states with upper houses run by Democrats tend to rank as slightly more conservative.
Conclusion
It turns out that having a Republican as governor or having Republicans control the lower legislative house of a state actually leads to less conservative taxation.
If you look beyond the hype and carefully examine the truth, you'll find that "Republican" is not synonymous with "Conservative", and actually may be contrary to it. Although Republican partisan politicians like to talk a good game, it's apparent that they often just don't deliver. Those of us who are conservatives first need to be willing to look beyond the Republican party for the kind of relief we value.
PostScript
You may be curious to know Massachusetts's ranking on the Tax Foundation's scale: it ranks 36 out of 50. That means that Massachusetts is more conservative in its tax policy than 35 other states, including the supposed conservative bastions of Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Utah.
Enough talk, time for ACTION: http://www.actblue.com
Well, thanks to new data from a conservative thinktank, The Tax Foundation, we can test that hypothesis. For each of the 50 states, the Tax Foundation measures the amount of state and local taxation as a proportion of state income. Then the Tax Foundation ranked the 50 states from 1-50 with #1 being the highest-taxed state as a proportion of state income, and #50 being the least-taxed state as a proportion of state income.
(See for yourself: http://taxfoundation.org/statelocal.html)
FACT:
The average rank of states with a Democratic Governor is 26.7, while the average rank of states with a Republican Governor is 24.6.
That means if you want conservative tax policy, you have to vote for a democratic governor.
States whose upper and lower houses are controlled by Democrats have an average Tax Foundation ranking of 21.3. A state whose upper legislative house is controlled by Republicans, however, has an average Tax Foundation ranking of 20.9. In other words, the states with upper houses run by Democrats tend to rank as slightly more conservative.
Conclusion
It turns out that having a Republican as governor or having Republicans control the lower legislative house of a state actually leads to less conservative taxation.
If you look beyond the hype and carefully examine the truth, you'll find that "Republican" is not synonymous with "Conservative", and actually may be contrary to it. Although Republican partisan politicians like to talk a good game, it's apparent that they often just don't deliver. Those of us who are conservatives first need to be willing to look beyond the Republican party for the kind of relief we value.
PostScript
You may be curious to know Massachusetts's ranking on the Tax Foundation's scale: it ranks 36 out of 50. That means that Massachusetts is more conservative in its tax policy than 35 other states, including the supposed conservative bastions of Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Utah.
Enough talk, time for ACTION: http://www.actblue.com
Never again! Take Action!
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