
How much your dollar buys — state by state. California? Not much.
Below is a valuable chart, comparing how much a $100 buys in each state. It’s no surprise that California is one of the worst. Only NY, NJ and HI offer less bang for the buck. Through a remarkable coincidence, all four states are controlled by Democrats. Odd, isn’t it? CAUTION: It’s worse than the graphic indicates. Most viewers of this data will misinterpret this graph — it’s worse in these four states than the charts indicate. The hypothetical $100 is AFTER TAX dollars — a fact that is mentioned only in passing. In other words, not included is the state income tax. These four worst states all have high state income taxes. Indeed, HI, NJ and NY income tax rates rise faster than CA, though in the top brackets, CA is considerably higher. Well, except for nut-ball NYC, that tacks on its own local income tax. So when you compare the value of $100 in, say, CA and TX, remember which state “lets” you pay a state income tax, and which state does not.