Capitol Fax: No, we’re not the worst

Ever since my state passed the tax hike on individual and corporate incomes Rich Miller had published several posts that attempts to keep the income tax hike in perspective.

Look, 21st overall ain’t great, but it gives the lie to the “We’re all gonna die!” rhetoric from those who claim Illinois is the worst state ever. And 2nd in new plant openings is a plus, even though our high population means our per million rate is also around the middle of the pack. Tax competitiveness is still not horrible, even after the January tax hike.

Then responds to a list of items that could make Illinois a better state to do business:

We can make it much eaiser to do business here, no question. But busting unions, killing off the income tax and fighting OSHA and EPA ain’t gonna happen. If that’s the climate you really want, then China or Mexico would probably be your best bets anyway.

The chart above is from siteselection.com

Also some of the items mentioned in Miller's post, well none of it is too unreasonable. He's right it's not likely to happen here. It could be attributed to a lack of appetite to tackle those issues especially politically. Weirder things have happened but that much major changes will take some time!