The states with the HIGHEST income tax rates,

{like CA, NY, CT ... }

are also the states with the biggest budget problems ... ?

appetite

Coming from one voice in NJ "GOOD QUESTION"

Notice they are the most liberal........

I think it's a gay thing...... gay rights are expensive.... or so I heard..

Montana is looking better all of the time.

Only because you've never been to Montana.

Well I never been to Spain..

But I kinda like the music.....

^And the siesta...ah...the siesta...

The high taxes are a symptom of massive liberal spending programs. People leave the state to avoid the taxes (like I did with NY a few years ago), leaving fewer taxpayers. What does the legistlature do? Raise taxes again to pay for the programs. What happens then? More people leave. Lather, rinse, repeat as someone here said recently.

#4 hit it right on. New York (where I live) has some of the most generous social programs in the nation. They offer all optional programs in Medicaid for example. Add that on to a large, unionized workforce. The Goverenor suggest laying off some of the state workforce this spring. The unions came out against it and in the end he rolled over and signed a budget with a hugh spending increase in it instead. Instead of addressing the problem of run away spending, they just added another story onto the house of cards.