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By Jon Coupal
For political observers, the debate between conservative and progressive politicians over the impact of various policies can be entertaining as well as enlightening. Of course, politicians tend to either stretch the truth or cherry-pick various statistics to support their positions.
Take, for example, arguments related to poverty. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the official poverty rate compares income to a poverty threshold that is adjusted by family composition. But the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), first released in 2011 and produced with support from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), modifies the official poverty measure by including the value of government programs for low-income families. The SPM also accounts for geographic variation, such as cost of living, in poverty thresholds.
Which of the two methods of calculating poverty is used makes a huge difference for California. Under the unadjusted poverty rate, California ranks right in the middle, 25th out of 50. But when cost of living is taken into account, California ranks dead last, 50th out of 50.
The disparity among comparative metrics is so pervasive it is difficult to discern the truth about which states perform better than others. But the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) produces an annual report entitled “Rich States, Poor States,” which ranks the economic competitiveness of states based on fifteen categories. It is intended as a resource for state lawmakers and other policy leaders for critical decision making.
Hardcore California haters might believe that the Golden State ranks worst in all possible measurements, but that simply isn’t true. What is true, however, is that California ranks poorly in most of the metrics and that the trends for the future are not encouraging. Of the fifteen categories, here are some of the more salient.
Income taxes: California ranks 48th worst with the highest state marginal tax rate in the nation. But because some local governments in other states impose income taxes – California does not – the state dodged that dead last position. Nonetheless, California did rank last (50th) in the progressivity of its income tax structure.
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