We hear a lot about how conservative Wyoming is. Well, in at least one area, that just isn’t true.
In a study of state government direct spending growth between 2000 and 2010, in real dollars per capita (to eliminate the effects of population growth and inflation), Wyoming grew 61%, making it the fourth largest state for growth in government spending. Wyoming increased government spending faster than alleged “big government” states like New York (41%, 19th in the nation), California (42%, 16th) and Illinois (57%, 5th).
Similarly, over the same period, Wyoming’s per capita tax take grew 52%, making it number three in the nation.
But that’s OK. Wyoming’s “conservative” legislative leadership can take comfort in Barak Obama’s recent words of wisdom: “…you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.”
