Live Event for the Release of the 2020 Fiscal Policy Report Card on America's Governors 11AM EDT

Read the report and join us online at 11AM EDT for the release event of the 2020 Fiscal Report Card on America's Governors. [View in browser]( [research-nonofficial] [Governors-Report-Card-600]( The Cato Institute has just released its biennial [Fiscal Policy Report Card on America's Governors](. The report card looks at data since 2018 for each state and awards an objective grade based on spending variables, a revenue variable, and tax rate variables. Governors who have cut taxes and spending the most receive the highest grades, while those who have increased taxes and spending the most receive the lowest grades. This report examines the widely varying tax and spending choices that governors have made in recent years. It discusses ways that states can respond to today’s budget challenges, including tapping revenues from marijuana legalization and cutting costs by prohibiting public‐sector collective bargaining. The report also describes how states can prepare for future downturns by building large rainy day funds and creating stable and pro‐growth tax bases. With the 2020 health crisis and recession, governors across the nation are facing tough fiscal choices. However, the need for restraint and recovery provides an opportunity for governors to prune low‐value spending from state budgets and to pursue growth‐enhancing tax reforms. [SEE WHERE YOUR GOVERNOR STANDS]( Related Event Live Online Today • 11:00AM - 12:00PM EDT [Focus on Fiscal Leadership: Release of the 2020 Fiscal Report Card on America’s Governors]( Please join Cato Institute President Peter Goettler and Director of Tax Policy Studies Chris Edwards for a conversation with New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu about this year’s report and the importance of fiscal restraint in state government. Governor Sununu has defended New Hampshire’s status as a low‐tax state and kept general funding spending close to flat in recent years. While neighboring Massachusetts imposed a costly payroll tax to fund a new paid leave program, Sununu has vetoed such a plan in his state. Sununu has cut business tax rates to improve New Hampshire’s competitiveness and defended the cuts from legislative efforts to undo them. [fiscal-policy-report-card-cover]( [WATCH THE EVENT LIVE TODAY]( About the Editors Chris Edwards is the director of tax policy studies at Cato and editor of DownsizingGovernment.org. Edwards is an established and sought after tax and budgetary expert having testified in front of Congress on fiscal issues many times and published in The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and other major newspapers. David Kemp is a research associate at the Cato Institute. [SUPPORT CATO]( [Facebook]( [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [YouTube]( Cato Institute, 1000 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20001, (202) 842-0200 [Manage preferences](