Comment: If there’s anything rating agencies love it’s higher taxes. Well, actually, they also love getting hired and paid by the governmental units they’re supposed to be rating objectively.

“[T]he Civic Federation has not been able to replicate the $3.4 billion number and the Governor’s Office has not yet provided information about the methodology used to arrive at the figure.”

It’s not just high taxes; it’s lousy services, too.

Comment: “We’ve re-written the bill to make sure that even if they have a footprint here and they clear their trades in New Jersey, they will be responsible,” a supporter says. Swell. They won’t even keep a footprint here.

Comment: Count one side of the equation and ignore the other.

Kentucky and Illinois are weighing extreme options to reduce their pension debt — but critics say they could ultimately cost the states more.

“… [W]e find that increases in corporate tax rates have a statistically and economically significant negative effect on employment among start-up firms. Specifically, for every one percentage point increase in the corporate tax rate, employment in start-up firms declines 3.7 percent.”

Comment: Should be a no-brainer — an ostrich with head in the sand.