by Wyoming Liberty Group Staff As Wyoming Liberty Group policy analyst Austin Hein recently explained in an excellent white paper, corporate welfare – also known as economic development – distorts investments and other use of economic resources. One of Hein's most important contributions is to explain, using Austrian economic theory, how programs s...

by Wyoming Liberty Group Staff We hear a lot about the gender pay gap in our state. This non-issue keeps coming back, as we noted back in February, despite the fact that it is mostly a matter of statistical mythology. Last year I debunked the Department of Workforce Studies report on the issue, explaining that the DWS appeared to have created the p...

by Wyoming Liberty Group Staff On May 10 Wyoming News Now reported: According to Verizon, Cheyenne has been voted one of the best places nationwide to start a new business. Ranking in at #6, it is the only state capital to break the top 10. Sounds good, doesn't it? We all want Cheyenne to be a good place to start a business – in fact, we all want W...

by Wyoming Liberty Group Staff Adjusted for inflation, the Wyoming economy was ten percent smaller in 2018 than it was in 2008, right when the Great Recession started. For every $100 of income, production and sales in our state in 2008, there is only $90 left now. Last year's minimal growth of 0.29 percent, which came on the heals of 0.48 percent i...

by Wyoming Liberty Group Staff On May 1 the Bureau of Economic Analysis released the final GDP numbers for the states for 2018. It is not a very pleasant read for us here in the Cowboy State. Year to year, our economy ended up in 49th place among the states; we only beat Alaska. All other states did better than us.* Utah and Idaho are running away ...

by Wyoming Liberty Group Staff My previous work looked at state and local government wages in the state of Wyoming. On average, in the state of Wyoming, there is a wage premium of 23% in state government. This analysis uses wages data from the Bureau of Labor and Statics, that does not include benefits. Local government employees' wages are similar...

by Wyoming Liberty Group Staff In the United States, it is estimated that 52% of households over the age of 65 have no retirement savings. What is more alarming is that a full 27% of Americans have neither retirement savings, nor a defined-benefits plan, meaning they are wholly unprepared for the mountain of expenses that faces almost everyone foll...

by Philip Baron In 2017 Wyoming had 292 state and local government employees per 1,000 people working in the private sector (according to employment data from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics). The state government made up 5.4%1 of the employment in the state in 2017. Local government made up 16.7% of the state's employment for the same year. Wha...

By Austin Hein Job creation is among the most pivotal topics in American politics. People want and need to work to provide for their families and themselves. Unfortunately, the government has increasingly put restrictions on the workforce. Today, nearly a quarter of all jobs in the United States require occupational licensure — up from 5% sixty yea...

by Wyoming Liberty Group Staff The 2009 recession had a widespread negative impact on every state in the country. Much of the United States is still suffering from the recession now ten years removed, but there is increasing optimism around the country that recovery is occurring. President Trump boasted a 2.6% GDP growth rate for 2018, but not ever...