The Massachusetts Tax-Cut Miracle

As you've probably read, maybe even in this column, cutting taxes to stimulate economic growth hasn't worked out so well for Kansas. In fact, things seem to only be getting worse for the state, with nonfarm payroll employment falling again in June, according to data released last week by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Kansas is the only state in the nation with fewer payroll jobs than it had six months ago; over the past 12 months, only Wyoming shares that dubious distinction.

It's enough to make a person think that lowering state taxes doesn't bring faster economic growth. But focusing too much on Kansas can be misleading. It's just one state, and not all of its current economic troubles can be attributed to the decisions made in Topeka over the past five years. Also, we may not be giving things enough time to play out. So let's take a look at another state that has been cutting taxes for a while -- Massachusetts. Yes, Massachusetts.