It’s really just simple math

Too many state governors operate under the assumption that the key to economic growth is to cut taxes – but it is not.

https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/data-visualizations/2014/fiscal-50#ind0

The recession of 2008-2009 was devastating for just about every state. Overall, 50 state tax revenue declined about 12% in that two year time period, but some states did worse. We’re all familiar with the disaster that Sam Brownback brought to Kansas, but Arizona’s relentless tax cutting produced even worst results. By the middle of 2009, tax revenue in Kansas had declined at roughly the save average as the 50 state total (12%), but Arizona’s tax revenue actually declined nearly 20% in the same time period.

In the 12 year time period from 2006 forward, the 50 state increase in revenue is up 9%, Kansas is only up by 2%, and Arizona’s tax revenue growth is exactly ZERO. For those who think that high taxes kill growth, it’s worthwhile to note that Massachusetts, a high tax state, has tax revenues 3% higher than the national average.

The difference between having a robust economy and a lousy one is the state’s investment in education. To a very large degree, states that spend the most on education have the best schools, the highest per capita income, and the lowest percentage of children living in poverty.

https://247wallst.com/special-report/2019/01/08/states-with-the-best-and-worst-schools-8/2/

The chart below overlays a couple of statistics that prove that education is KEY almost all the time. As always, there will be some exceptions, since New York and Washington D.C spend the most per pupil on students. New York's schools are only average, and the D.C. area has some of the worst schools in the country.

The column below ranks state school systems, from best to worst. The other columns show other variables.
		H.S. grade rate	per pupil spending	bachelor's degrees	low income	per cap income	religious
1	Mass	13th	7th	1st - 43.4%	26.70%	61,000	50
2	N.J.	2nd	3rd	3rd - 39.7%	29.40%	60,000	19
3	N.H.	9th	10th	8th - 36.9 %	22.80%	55,000	50
4	Conn.	15th	2nd- $18.958	5th - 38.7 %	29.30%	67,000	47
5	VT	11th	4th - $17,873	7th - 38.3 %	33.00%	48,000	48
6	Minn	34th	17th	9th	28.30%	51,000	35
7	VA	20th	24th	5th - 38.7 %	30.60%	52,000	14
8	WY	38th	6th	37th	34.40%	55,000	22
9	NE	4th	18th	21st	36.40%	48,000	22
10	IA	1st - 91.3%	36th	32nd	32.80%	45,000	19
		H.S. grade rate	per pupil spending	adults with bachelors degree	% of low income	per cap income
11	UT	26th	WORST - $6953	12th	31.50%	39,000	12
12	MD	12th	12th	3rd - 39.7%	28.80%	56,000	2
13	ND	13th	15th	25th	27.70%	54,000	27
14	PA	21st	9th	23rd	35.40%	49,000	27
15	CO	44th	37th	2nd - 41.%	30.90%	50,000	41
16	WI	9th	2rd	26th	33.90%	46,000	44
17	Wash	39th	21st	11th	32.40%	51,000	44
18	Ind.	19th	33rd	40th	39.80%	41,000	22
19	KS	23rd	31st	14th	38.00%	46,000	19
20	SD	27th	39th	34th	34.60%	45,000	16
		H.S. grade rate	per pupil spending	adults with bachelors degree	% of low income	per cap income
21	ME	17th	16th	20th	31.70%	42,000	48
22	Mont	24th	25th	19th	37.80%	41,000	39
23	Ohio	28th	19th	35th	40.00%	43,000	17
24	ILL	25th	13th	13th	36.60%	49,000	33
25	Del	25th	11th	22nd	37.40%	48,000	32
26	NY	37th	HIGHEST-$23K	10th	38.90%	58,000	43
27	FL	36th	27th	27th	45.20%	44,000	10
28	NC	22nd	44th	25th	42.50%	41,000	10
29	RI	30th	8th	17th	32.40%	51,000	35
30	MO	6th	29th	30th	40.50%	43,000	15
		H.S. grade rate	per pupil spending	adults with bachelors degree	% of low income	per cap income
31	Hawaii	31st	14th	18th	27.10%	48,000	41
32	KY	7th	32nd	45th	42.50%	39,000	13
33	TX	5th	40th	28th	44.40%	47,000	11
34	Idaho	39th	49th	49th	41.50%	38,000	33
35	GA	43rd	35th	25th	43.00%	41,000	8
36	Tenn	8th	43rd	38th	43.90%	42,000	3
37	Oregon	47th	28th	14th	38.10%	43,000	39
38	Mich	39th	20th	30th	40.50%	42,000	27
39	Ark	17th	34th	47th	48.80%	39,000	5
40	CA	29th	22nd	16th	39.50%	53,000	35
		H.S. grade rate	per pupil spending	adults with bachelors degree	% of low income	per cap income
41	SC	32nd	30th	35th	46.50%	38,000	6
42	OK	35th	46th	42nd	47.00%	44,000	9
43	WV	3rd- 89.8%	25th	lowest - 20.2%	46.30%	37,000	7
44	Alaska	46th	5th	33rd	33.30%	56,000	44
45	AZ	42nd	47th - $7613	29th	44.80%	39,000	27
46	Alabama	16th	38th	42nd	46.20%	39,000	1 - 77%
47	NV	49th	41st	44th	41.60%	42,000	35
48	Miss	33rd	45th	49th	51.20%	35,000	1 - 77%
49	LA	45th	27th	46th	49.30%	44,000	4
50	NM	lowest - 71%	36th	39th	52.90%	38,000	18
51	DC		28,000			71,000	27
	U.S.					48,000
		H.S. grade rate	per pupil spending	adults with bachelors degree	% of low income	per cap income

As a general rule, the states that have the best-funded schools also have the highest per capita income. The states that are miserly when it comes to education have per capita income that is as much as $30,000 less than the most prosperous states. They also have the highest percentage of children living in poverty. Both New Mexico and Mississippi have more than 50% of their children living in poverty.

https://www.infoplease.com/business-finance/poverty-and-income/capita-personal-income-state

If your life is feeling like it’s a dead end, the logical response is to ask for help from a higher power, which is why 77% of the population of Alabama and Mississippi consider themselves to be “very religious” – which makes them prey to religious hucksters.

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/02/29/how-religious-is-your-state/?state=alabama

John Oliver produced a show about 3 years ago that gave more insight into the problem:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7y1xJAVZxXg&t=194s

Finland now has the best public schools in the world, and a large part of the reason is that teaching is a highly regarded profession, and teachers are paid very well.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/11-best-school-systems-in-the-world-a7425391.html

In contract, too many teachers in America do not get the respect that they deserve. Arizona does not have the lowest average teacher salary, but it is close to the bottom, with an average of $47,456, for a ranking of 47. South Dakota is the worst, with an average of $40,934, and the highest average salary is in New York, which has an average of $77,629, only slightly above the District of Columbia, which has an average of  $75,490.

Since I work as a substitute teacher most days of the week, I see firsthand how hard teachers have to work. Part of that work involves class size, and Arizona has the 2^nd highest average number of students per class in the country, at 23.8. Only Nevada is higher.

Due to poor pay, and difficult working conditions, many states have trouble attracting teachers. As of September of 2018, nearly 1 in 4 Arizona teaching positions are not filled. The teacher walkout last spring was a desperate attempt by the teachers to recover some of $1 billion that state had cut from education in the last decade, and they succeeded – at least to a degree.

http://time.com/money/5287489/average-teacher-salary-by-state/

There is a very old saying that if you want to get water out of that well, you need to prime the pump. By the same token, if you want GREAT economic growth in your state, you first have to “prime the pump” – by investing in education.