The
Government
Performance Project conducted a comprehensive study which analyzed
and graded the 50 states based on how they administer four areas of
governance: (1) Money, (2) people, (3) infrastructure, and (4)
information. Here is a table organized by the overall ratings, from
highest to lowest, and color coded for red states/blue states.
State
Grade
Utah
A-
Virginia
A-
Delaware
B+
Kentucky
B+
Michigan
B+
Minnesota
B+
Washington
B+
Arizona
B
Georgia
B
Iowa
B
Kansas
B
Louisiana
B
Maryland
B
Missouri
B
Nebraska
B
Ohio
B
Pennsylvania
B
South Carolina
B
Texas
B
Vermont
B
Florida
B-
Idaho
B-
Maine
B-
Nevada
B-
New Jersey
B-
New York
B-
North Dakota
B-
South Dakota
B-
Wisconsin
B-
Alaska
C+
Arkansas
C+
Colorado
C+
Connecticut
C+
Illinois
C+
Indiana
C+
Massachusetts
C+
Mississippi
C+
Montana
C+
New Mexico
C+
North Carolina
C+
Oklahoma
C+
Oregon
C+
Rhode Island
C+
Tennessee
C+
West Virginia
C+
Hawaii
C
New Hampshire
C
Wyoming
C
Alabama
C-
California
C-
If we assign each letter a number on a
scale similar to a 4.0 GPA scale, we see that the red state average
is 2.685, while the blue state average is 2.645. Overall, ratings
are almost identical on the whole between red and blue states. Here are
descriptions, from the
GPP website,
outlining the four areas on which states are graded:
Money
How well does the state manage its fiscal resources, including budgeting,
forecasting, accounting and financial reporting, procurement,
contracting, investments, and debt?
People
How well does the state manage its employees, including implementing an
effective and efficient hiring, retention, development, and reward
system?
Infrastructure
How well does
the state manage its physical infrastructure, including its roads,
bridges, buildings, and other resources supported by capital
expenditures?
Information
How well do
elected leaders and managers use information and technology to measure
the effectiveness of services, make decisions, and communicate with
citizens?
