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Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin

(107,083 posts)
Fri May 17, 2019, 03:36 PM May 2019

Washington is No. 1! Or is that No. 22?

If Washington state had a big enough fridge — maybe the size of the 60-foot Lava Lamp that was supposed to be built at Soap Lake — this article could have gone on the freezer door under a Washington Apples magnet: “Why Washington Is the Best State in America.”

Earlier this week, U.S. News and World Report released its third annual ranking of states, with Washington taking the top spot based on its cumulative score on several measures: health care, education, the economy, infrastructure, opportunity, fiscal stability, crime and corrections and natural environment.

Washington didn’t finish first in any of those measures; in fact its rankings were middling for a few sectors, including 22nd for fiscal stability and only 14th for natural environment (We blame last summer’s wildfire smoke.) But the state ranked high enough on four other measures that received more weight than others based on survey results that ranked the importance of those criteria. The state ranked fourth for health care, fourth for education, third for economy and second for infrastructure. That put the state at No. 1, ahead of New Hampshire, Minnesota, Utah and Vermont.

It’s news that will be highlighted by those marketing the state to attract potential new businesses and retain existing employers (Boeing and Amazon, you do have subscriptions, right?). And mention of the article is sure to be included in the stump speech of at least one Democratic presidential candidate.

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Opportunity Washington knows a little about this game, having published its own similar rankings in recent years. The effort comes from a partnership of the Association of Washington Business, Washington Roundtable and Washington Research Council. While noting that such comparisons can be subjective, Opportunity Washington said it found U.S. News and World Report’s rankings well done and useful.

Useful, because like any report card, it offers a starting point to review what’s being done well and where improvement is needed.

In Opportunity Washington’s admittedly more critical and business-focused judgment, Washington ranked only 22nd in its scorecard from last spring. In its accounting, Utah, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Virginia and Indiana were the top five states.

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https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/editorial-washington-is-no-1-or-is-that-no-22/?utm_source=DAILY+HERALD&utm_campaign=7e423e0f09-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d81d073bb4-7e423e0f09-228635337

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