The rankings are in!!! And Ohio is....

Still 47th.

:sigh:

The past year we here at 3BP have been frustrated at Ohio's place among the rankings for the Tax Foundation's State Business Tax Climate Index (SBTCI). The ranking is designed "to gauge how states' tax systems compare. Policymakers can use the SBTCI to pinpoint changes to their tax systems that will explicitly improve their states' standing in relation to competing states.

"Certainly job creation is rapid overseas, as previously underdeveloped nations enter the world economy. So state lawmakers are right to be concerned about how their states rank in the global competition for jobs and capital, but they need to be more concerned with companies moving from Ithaca, NY, to Indianapolis, IN, than from Ithaca to India. This means that state lawmakers must be aware of how their states' tax climates match up to their immediate neighbors and to other states within their regions."

So, with the new rankings released this morning, how does Ohio stack up in its region?


Crap.

The Tax Foundation, a non-partisan organization, used each state's Corporate Tax Index, Individual Income Tax Index, Sales Tax Index, Unemployment Insurance Tax Index, and Property Tax index to determine the final rankings.

Unfortunately for Ohio, the state scored 47th, 38th, 46th, 37th, 10th, and 49th, respectively. Even more depressing, where the state scored best was the least important factor in determining the ranking.

You see data like this and so many of Ohio's troubles make sense.

• Unemployment at levels a full 11% higher than the national average and more than double what they were when Ted Strickland came into office.
• Going back as far as the US Bureau of Labor Statistics allows online, Strickland is the only Ohio Governor who has seen the state labor force decline under his watch. This means Ohioans have completely given up looking for work, and many young people are leaving the state under what has come to be known as the brain-drain.
  
• And most recently we learn that the latest census figures show the median household income declined in eight of the Ohio's 10 largest cities last year.

Turnaround Ohio, Governor Strickland?

Ohioans are done waiting.

Want to do something about it? Contribute today to elect John Kasich the next Governor of Ohio.