A new survey of leading American CEOs reveals what most Floridians understand: that Florida and other red states are good places to do business.
Chief Executive magazine released its annual survey on Wednesday, which states are the best and worst for businesses. The poll included feedback from more than 600 CEOs nationwide, with respondents drawn from every state.
The result: red states good, blue states bad.
As Chief Executive reported, Texas and Florida ranked as the states with the best pro-business climates.
Read: Former Federal Prosecutors Say Alvin Bragg’s Strategy Is Unlike Anything They’ve Seen Before
This is a contest that Texas and Florida have long dominated.
“Texas once again placed No. 1 and Florida once again No. 2 in the Chief Executive survey of Best and Worst States for Business for 2024, the pattern for nearly the entire history of the annual survey that began in 2001,” the outlet reported of its own poll.
“Texas and Florida’s consistent ranking at the top of lists for best states to do business in reaffirms their status as economic powerhouses,” Chris Chalk, publisher of Chief Executive, said in a press release.
“Their pro-business environments, robust infrastructure, and skilled workforce continue to attract businesses and drive economic growth. These states serve as prime examples of how strategic policies and investments can create opportunities for success.”
IN the press release, one unnamed CEO said of Florida, “Florida is incredibly business friendly and has business policies that make sense. Florida’s business climate is attractive and their people want to work.”
That side of the equation is probably not surprising.
Read: Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz Signals That House Republicans Will Fight Biden Rule Title IX
Yet it’s also not surprising that Democrat-run, leftist-heavy California and New York were the worst, ranking 50th and 49th, respectively.
Joining Texas and Florida in the top 10 were: Tennessee, Arizona, North Carolina, Indiana, Georgia, Nevada, Utah, and South Carolina.
All of them but Arizona and North Carolina have GOP governors.
Yet Republicans control the state legislatures in both Arizona and North Carolina.
At the other end of the scale, 10 states with Democratic governors and Democrat-majority legislatures anchored the misery index.
The list included Illinois, New Jersey, Washington, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Oregon, Connecticut, and Minnesota, in ascending order from California and New York at the very bottom.
Largely keeping with the trends, the state that made the biggest gain since last year was North Dakota, with a Republican governor and Republican-led legislature. The state jumped 13 places to 16th place.
Read: MSNBC Host Rants About DeSantis’ Florida Being “Downright Dangerous” For Women
On the other hand, the biggest losers were Colorado, with a Democrat governor and a Democratic-majority legislature, which recorded the biggest plummet by dropping 16 spots to No. 29, and Wisconsin, the only other state to record a double-digit drop, falling 11 slots to 30th place.
Wisconsin runs against the grain, having a Democrat governor but a Republican-led legislature.
Chief Executive noted two significant trends this year.
First, “These (survey) results are especially significant this year because CEOs are demonstrating greater restlessness. Fully 49% of them in the Chief Executive survey said they were ‘more open to examining new locations for your business.’ Also, 44% of CEOs said they were ‘considering opening or expanding new operations or facilities in a new state,’ while 35% were considering shifting operations to a new state.”
It would be a safe bet to assume those numbers reflect CEOs who want out of high-tax, heavy-regulation blue states to business friendly red ones.
The other noteworthy outcome: more states seek to emulate low-tax red states.
“The winners in the Best and Worst States for Business tend to be low-tax locales or tax-cutting states, for sure. But partly because so many states have been flush from Covid-era federal funds, greater fiscal responsibility has become table stakes in the economic development game: 17 states are planning to cut both business and income taxes this year, according to the Tax Foundation, while six are cutting corporate income-tax rates and 14 states are trimming individual income-tax rates,” Chief Executive reported.
Help support the Tampa Free Press by making any small donation by clicking here.
Android Users, Click To Download The Tampa Free Press App And Never Miss A Story. Follow Us On Facebook and Twitter. Sign up for our free newsletter.