One of my favorite Cato publications is the Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors, which is produced by my colleague Chris Edwards.
The report card uses variables such as the burden of government spending and the degree of class warfare tax policy to determine which states are moving in the right direction and which ones are moving in the wrong direction.
The new version was released today and it shows that Sam Brownback of Kansas and Rick Scott of Florida are the best governors in the nation.
Here are the top 8.
The top Democrat, for those who care about party affiliation, is John Lynch of New Hampshire.
What about the worst governors? Well, that field is more crowded, but somebody has to be the worst of the worst, and that honor goes to Pat Quinn of Illinois, who seems determined to have his state beat California in the race to Greek-style default and fiscal chaos.
No Republican was in the bottom 8, but Bill Haslam of Tennessee was in the bottom 10, and Gary Herbert of Utah and Jan Brewer of Arizona also had dismal D grades.
As Chris explains in his report, legislatures play a role in how well (or poorly) a state does in the report card – much as Bill Clinton’s reasonably good performance presumably was impacted by the GOP Congress. But Chris also looks at policies proposed by governors, so that enables a more accurate measure of each governor’s fiscal philosophy.
The Fiscal Policy Report Card is a great resource document, enabling apples-to-apples comparisons among states, just as the Economic Freedom of the World makes it easy to compare nations.
International Liberty 
[…] the Cato Institute for years has been publishing a Report Card that grades governors based on fiscal policy. So fans (or opponents) of different candidates can […]
[…] the Cato Institute for years has been publishing a Report Card that grades governors based on fiscal policy. So fans (or opponents) of different candidates can […]
[…] And if you like state fiscal data, the Cato Institute’s Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors shows which states are moving in the wrong direction and right […]
not politically bias,hmm! best R worst D right! LMAO.
[…] And if you like state fiscal data, the Cato Institute’s Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors shows which states are moving in the wrong direction and right […]
The study is a little misleading in that it penalizes governors of well run states who don’t do a whole lot simply because they don’t need to. It also gives down marks to those states who enacted genuine cost savings plans and now are using their surplus. That doesn’t mean some, like Utah’s Herbert couldn’t do better, but their tenure is not as bad as portrayed in the report.
It’s really not fair to say our governor, Pat Quinn, is the worst in the nation. Illinois has not had a governor for years! We don’t need one – we have Micheal Madigan who had run Illinois forever! Madigan is part of the same Chicago political machine that has given us such greats as Blogo, Tammy Duckworth, and of course, Obama! America – Pray for us!
To Andrew C,
As for the high sales tax, your base rate is 5.5 % Now you have Maricopa cty tacking on .7 %. Each county and municipality have their piggyback tax as well. Some taxing food for home consumption, others not.
Here in Ohio the base rate is 6.7, There are so many piggybacks that in my county it is 7.25 %. Lucas county, Hamilton cty have higher ones yet. Food is exempt for home use.
AS for your cheap illegal labor,don’t forget to factor in what your state pays for health care food stamps, etc. I, personally only buy merchandise made in the USA and must be marked as such.
Good luck in your voting.
I think that some of the comments so far have missed the point of the study, the focus of which was only on state fiscal policy, not immigration or opposition to federal policies.
Bill, you must be joking, right? Her illegal immigration fight has done nothing but cause the state to spend more money rounding up people who actually help our economy by providing cheap goods and services.
More importantly, do you know she lobbied heavily for the Arizona “temporary” sales tax increase, giving Arizona the 3rd (!!!) highest effective sales tax in the country? Arizona has lost out on hundreds of jobs because business don’t want to move here because of the inhospitable tax climate. Sane conservatives protested that temporary sales tax increases usually become permanent. Brewer said not to worry. Now, that temporary tax is on the ballot to become permanent — just like everyone told her would happen.
Her “fight” against the Obama Administration scores her easy political points, but it also provides cover for her failure to pursue high-growth policies, decrease taxes, or the like. Essentially, she’s a lot like Sheriff Joe — earning a reputation as a defender of the “conservative” cause by decrying evil Obama, while using smoke and mirrors to distract voters from the fact there’s nothing to back up that conservative moniker.
I’m very disappointed. I fully expected my beloved and wholly insane California to make the best of the worst list. Governor Brown and the legislature will just have to try harder.
Why is Jan Brewer rated a D?
I can find no explanation as to why. I personally feel she has done her best when it comes to illegal immigration and fighting the Obama adminstration at the same time.