State GOP: U. S. Chamber study ranks Missouri last in business growth study

Despite the fact that the Republican Party has been in total control of the state legislature for years, a Missouri GOP news release is putting the entire blame for the state's economic problems on Gov. Jay Nixon. From the news release:

A new report released this week by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce shows Missouri trailing every other state in terms of the creation of favorable conditions for business growth.


The study, “Enterprising States: Recovery and Renewal for the 21st Century,” ranked each state on 32 different metrics of competitiveness—from fiscal issues to economic performance to taxes and regulation to infrastructure and more. For each of these 32 categories, the study compares each state and ranks them in the “top 10,” “next 15,” or in the bottom 25. According to the chart on page 27, Missouri is ranked in the bottom 25 states in 24 of the 32 categories—the worst performance of any state.

Missouri’s performance has fallen considerably since the Chamber’s 2010 report, when the state ranked in the top 25 in 13 of the 35 categories.

“Missourians don’t need a study to tell them that the economy has failed to turn around—but this report from the US Chamber of Commerce shows why Missouri under Jay Nixon is ‘falling behind,’” said Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party. “Jay Nixon’s Missouri has the dubious distinction of being performing the worst when compared with other states struggling to emerge from the recession. It won’t come as any comfort to the 269,000 Missourians who can’t find work, but this report sheds light on why Jay Nixon’s Missouri has failed to create jobs.”

The Chamber’s study is yet another setback for Jay Nixon, who has tried to convince Missourians that the economy is “gaining momentum.” It comes just weeks after two reports showed Missouri “falling behind” the rest of the nation—along with new government data showing that recovery is not taking hold in Missouri.

In total, nearly 50,000 fewer Missourians have jobs today than when Nixon took office, and the unemployment rate is nearly 1 point higher than when Nixon was sworn in. There are currently 269,036 Missourians who cannot find work. (Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)