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Gov. Inslee ranks #50 in CATO Institute’s governors list

Oct 7, 2020, 3:15 PM | Updated: Oct 8, 2020, 8:31 am

Inslee, police...

Gov. Inslee on Wednesday, June 3. (TVW)

(TVW)

The Cato Institute released its annual report card on U.S. governors and Gov. Inslee landed at the bottom at number 50.

Inslee, Culp set to square off in first (and only) gubernatorial debate Wednesday

“He wants higher energy taxes, capital gains tax to raise a billion a year, tobacco tax that mainly lands on lower-income folks, Business and Occupation tax there in Washington state,” said Chris Edwards, who compiled the list. “On taxes and spending, Jay Inslee has been the worst governor in the United States for many years. It’s really unfortunate for Washington’s economy and for citizens.”

‘A’ grades go to governors who’ve cut taxes and spending the most, according to the institute. Governors Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, Kim Reynolds of Iowa, Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, and Mark Gordon of Wyoming earned ‘A’ grades. Inslee shares ‘F’ grades with Ralph Northham of Virginia, Andrew Cuomo of New York, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Phil Murphy of New Jersey, JB Pritzker of Illinois, and Kate Brown of Oregon.

All of the “top” governors are Republican, while all of those who received ‘F’ grades are Democrats. However, the Cato Institute, founded by the Koch brothers, claims to be a non-partisan libertarian think tank.

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Gov. Inslee ranks #50 in CATO Institute’s governors list