Tennessee's Battle to Beat Obesity

Tennessee ranks as one of five states in the country with the highest rates of obesity.obesity, Tennessee, health, health care, healthcare, Gold Sneaker Initiative

State of the State Address

In Tennessee, we're proving unequivocally that green jobs are the future of America's economy.Tennessee, state of the state, state of the state address, Bredesen, Phil Bredesen, governor, business, economy, recovery, economic

Tennessee Housing Market: 1st Quarter 2009

Tennessee, housing, market, Tennessee housing, Tennessee housing market, housing market

Tennessee Housing Market: 3rd Quarter 2008

Tennessee, housing, market, Tennessee housing, Tennessee housing market, housing market

Race to the Top: State Prepares to Turn the Page

In March, Tennessee became one of two states to win the federal government's Race to the Top competition, which will award the state an estimated $500 million to pursue education reform and innovation.Race to the Top, education reform, Tennessee, education, Timothy Webb

Tennessee Housing Market: 2nd Quarter 2009

Tennessee, housing, market, Tennessee housing, Tennessee housing market, housing market

Tennessee Housing Market: 4th Quarter 2008

Tennessee, housing, market, Tennessee housing, Tennessee housing market, housing market

The Case against a Tennessee Income Tax

On November 2 the Tennessee legislature will convene a special session to debate reform of the state tax system. The center of the controversy is whether Tennessee should adopt a personal income tax, as proposed by Gov. Don Sundquist, to close an estimated $400 million budget shortfall. This study finds that a personal income tax in Tennessee would likely have two negative economic effects. First, an income tax would almost certainly reduce economic growth and job creation in the state. The absence of an income tax in Tennessee gives Tennessee a large competitive advantage over other states with which it competes for jobs and businesses. We find, for example, that Kentucky, a state very similar to Tennessee except that it has an income tax, has had considerably weaker economic performance since 1980. Between 1980 and 1998 the per capita economic growth rate of Tennessee was 47 percent compared to 36 percent in Kentucky. The second negative effect of a state income tax would be to trigger much faster growth in state expenditures. That has been the almost universal pattern in other states after they enacted a state income tax. Yet the premise of pro-income tax forces in Tennessee that the state's revenues have been growing too slowly is contradicted by the evidence. In the 1990s, even without an income tax, Tennessee's per capita tax receipts have grown 12th fastest among the 50 states. Tennessee's tax revenues have climbed at twice the rate of inflation plus population growth. The legislature should be cutting taxes, not introducing new ones

Tennessee Housing Market: 4th Quarter 2009

Tennessee, housing, market, Tennessee housing, Tennessee housing market, housing market, construction, fourth quarter, 2009, foreclosures, Nashville, Knoxville, Memphis