Forbes Ranks States by Financial Woes - New York Wins!

No shock, right? Except maybe that we beat out New Jersey and California.

Here are the worst five states, as ranked by Forbes:

1. New York
2. Illinois
3. Connecticut        
4. California
5. New Jersey

Forbes points out that the common link between all these states is that they are solidly Democrat, and have powerful public sector unions (we're back to the teachers, again...). Who is going to start a business of any size in these states, when you know in advance you will have to pick up the tab for all the debt that's been accumulated?

Here are the five best states:

1. Utah
2. New Hampshire
3. Nebraska
4. Texas
5. Virginia

Texas manages this feat without any state income tax. Utah only spends $5500 per child on education. Before you say how awful this is, consider the following SAT scores:

                                   Reading                Math

Utah                              559                     558
National Avg.                501                     515
New York                      488                     504
Bedford/Fox Lane          550                     560

Yes, I know these comparisons are not purely apples to apples. But here in Bedford we spend $28,000 per student and have roughly the same performance as a state that spends one fifth as much. Make all the demographic adjustments you like, and you're still not in the same ballpark. Utah is getting the job done. Perhaps we should figure out how?