The "Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index" is an annual report published by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) Center for State Fiscal Reform. It ranks states' economic competitiveness using fifteen equally weighted policy variables, including various tax rates, regulatory burdens, and labor polic...

In the latest episode of "Eye on the Issues," State Treasurer Curt Meier joins host Mike Garofalo. The Treasurer shares his views on the recent legislative session and a breakdown of what a State Treasurer does. Together they discuss where the Treasurer stands on Wyoming's efforts to develop a stable token plus ESG Laws and what they mean for Wyomi...

Video footage is from the House Minerals, Business and Economic Development meeting held on January 25, 2023. Be sure to watch as legislators ask important questions about this bill. House Bill 91, a "news source shield law" that is now before the Wyoming Legislature, relies on a narrower definition, and would prevent the government from forcing in...

by Wyoming Liberty Group Staff Government spending in Wyoming is under scrutiny, in part because of proposals to raise taxes as an alternative to spending cuts. This Report examines three spending areas with reference to government charges, calculating the net spending by those areas. Main finding: Because of the net balance between spending on the...

by Wyoming Liberty Group Staff It is sometimes suggested that Wyoming needs more government spending per capita because we are a rural state. As recently as on July 21, the Casper Star Tribune suggested as much: According to a 2018 analysis by USA Today, state and local government spending per capita in Wyoming is the second-highest in the nation, ...

by Wyoming Liberty Group Staff On May 1 the Bureau of Economic Analysis released the final GDP numbers for the states for 2018. It is not a very pleasant read for us here in the Cowboy State. Year to year, our economy ended up in 49th place among the states; we only beat Alaska. All other states did better than us.* Utah and Idaho are running away ...

by Wyoming Liberty Group Staff This year is a great time to discuss the future of Wyoming, especially in terms of what role government should play in our state's economy. On February 22 I proposed a list of topics for this conversation, ranging from comprehensive transparency and efficiency reforms to school choice and free-market reforms in health...

by Wyoming Liberty Group Staff The Bureau of Labor Statistics is slightly behind in releasing state and county level employment data. We will have state-level numbers for January on March 11 and the February numbers on March 22. We can also look forward to the county-level numbers for the third and fourth quarters of 2018. In the meantime, here is ...

by Wyoming Liberty Group Staff This Weekly Economic Review reports data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis on the composition of personal income in Wyoming. Main Point: Personal income in Wyoming is skewed toward equity-based and entitlement-based earnings. This should be taken into account when the legislature considers future changes to our sta...

by Wyoming Liberty Group Staff The legislature is now past the deadline for moving bills out of their chamber of origin, and we can take inventory of the bills that proposed tax increases. The long story short is that our elected officials appear to have been listening to the opposition to tax hikes. The following bills that were written to raise y...