LANSING – An online publication that focuses on business and investing has ranked Michigan 47th overall in terms of management, citing factors like its drop in home value, its credit rating and crime rate, but a spokesperson for Gov. Jennifer Granholm said the study done by 247wallstreet dealt largely with factors that had nothing to do with actual fiscal management.
Liz Boyd said the study runs counter to the praise Michigan has received from the Pew Center, Governing Magazine and others.
According to the study, Wyoming was the best-managed state in the nation while Kentucky was the worst run.
The study did look at a number of factors that could or could not be directly affected by state management depending on one’s point of view, including crime, per capita income, the state’s credit rating, its debt level, its unemployment rate and change in median house price.
According to the study, Michigan has per capita debt of $7,547, 28th overall; an unemployment rate of 13.1 percent, 49th worst in the nation; saw its home prices drop from 2006-2010 by 13.8 percent, 46th worst; and that its median income of $45,255 was 34th in the nation.
The other states the online publication ranked in the bottom 10 were Nevada, Florida, Illinois, Mississippi, South Carolina, Louisiana, Arizona and California.
The other states ranked in the top 10 were North Dakota, Iowa, Vermont, Minnesota, Virginia, New Hampshire, Maryland and Hawaii.
Boyd said few of the factors cited by 247wallstreet had anything to do directly with state fiscal management. When the state made its last bond issuance, Moody’s Investors Services praised the state’s overall fiscal management, especially given the ongoing fiscal crisis, Boyd said.
And both the Pew Center and Governing Magazine have rated Michigan as one of the best-managed states in the nation.
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