This is a sad, sad, sad story. Washington State died this week. Economically, that is. And it will be a slow but sure death. As we mentioned last week, every one of the last 11 states that has adopted an income tax has lost ground economically. It’s a steady sclerosis. Ironically, the same progressives who lecture “follow the science,” ignore the science on the perils of adopting an income tax.

Unleash Prosperity co-founders Stephen Moore and Dr. Arthur Laffer are on the WSJ editorial page today explaining this tragic blunder:

A secret to the Evergreen State’s success has been that it has no income tax. But Democrats in Olympia are perilously close to enacting a “millionaire tax” of 9.9%…

The decision to enact an income tax bodes ill for Washington’s economic future… The 11 states in combination accounted for about one-third of national output in 1970. Today they account for slightly more than one-fifth. Since Ohio adopted its income tax in 1971, its share of nationwide domestic output has fallen by nearly half. Since Michigan adopted its income tax in 1967, its share of total state and local tax revenue nationwide has fallen by 53%.

Pennsylvania’s share of national output declined 42% since its income tax of 1971; West Virginia has lagged national population growth by 56% since its income tax of 1961; and Rhode Island’s share of state and local tax revenue nationally has plummeted by a third since its income tax of 1971. In terms of the change in its share of the nation’s population, economic output and population, not one of the new income-tax states registers a positive number since the imposition of this tax. And the negative numbers are often highly negative.