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Saturday, November 22, 2008

What Top 3 Unemployment States Have in Common

The WSJ shows the unemployment rates by state across the country. (Note that the online interactive map shows changes in unemployment rates while the print edition has the actual unemployment rates.)

The three states with the highest unemployment rates are Michigan (9.3%), Rhode Island (9.3%) and California (8.2%). I don't think it's a coincidence that all three have terrible records on rates of taxation (and all voted overwhelmingly Obama), with California and Rhode Island in the Top 10 most burdensome states on taxes. While Michigan isn't in the Top 10, it is quickly getting there, with Dem. Governor Granholm (now an Obama advisor) raising taxes during her tenure.

The states with the lowest unemployment rates? Nebraska, the Dakotas, Utah and Wyoming (all voting McCain), which are all in the middle to lower on the list of burdensome tax rates. And we're supposed to believe that raising taxes is somehow supposed to help the economy?