BCT Editorial – 1/26/11

The editorial says, “According to The Tax Foundation, a Washington-based, business-oriented (and that’s putting it mildly) think tank, the state’s business tax climate index ranks 26th in the nation for fiscal 2011.”

Hooray, we’re #26!  That’s a good summary of the subject editorial.  Similar editorials (here, here, here, here, here, here) go back at least as far as 2006.  I’m surprised the editorial didn’t try to spin this as Pennsylvania is the best of the worst because #26 is the top of the bottom half.

If the Steelers were the subject of this editorial, would it attempt to tell us finishing 17th out of 32 teams (the equivalent of 26th out of 50 states) at the end of the season isn’t so bad?  Would that hypothetical editorial tell us “That’s not good and that’s not bad.  It’s average?”

As for the “business-oriented (and that’s putting it mildly)” comment, up until “No need to panic,” my records indicate editorials going back to at least 2005 simply referred to the Tax Foundation as a Washington-based think tank or something similar.  In “No need to panic,” the Times said “the Tax Foundation, a Washington-based think tank that can’t be accused of having a liberal agenda.”  If the representations are true, that’s fine.  I just want to know what triggered the change in Times policy.