The Blog at MSPC

This one-stop portal supports the initiative that government services should be organized around the people who use them, not the bureaucracy that administers them.

The goal should be straightforward: keep Montana’s rivers healthy, accessible, and productive for the people and communities that depend on them—today and for generations to come.

With the federal rules now on the table, Washington's remaining question is no longer how the program will work. It is whether the state will participate. Taxpayers and students in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming are already set up to benefit from the new federal Education Freedom Tax credit.

You may have heard objections to Governor Gianforte’s proposal to move Montana to a flat income tax. We’ve heard those objections before. Experience proved that they were wrong then. And they are wrong now. Here are the facts.

Montana’s economy has momentum. Smart workforce and tax policies can help ensure that momentum becomes a lasting opportunity.

The direction of the evidence is remarkably consistent. Lower and flatter income taxes are associated with faster growth, higher incomes, improved compliance, stronger competitiveness, and greater protection against future tax increases.

Wildfire will remain part of life in the Mountain West. The question is whether states will continue paying primarily after disaster strikes or invest more deliberately before the next fire begins.

If states want tax relief that does more than provide temporary relief—if we want a tax cut that changes the state's long-term economic trajectory—then reducing the individual income tax should be near the top of the list. And Montana is front and center in the current conversation.

Mountain States Policy Center today released a major new study examining Montana’s 1972 Constitution and making the case that voters should seriously consider calling a new constitutional convention when the question returns to the statewide ballot in 2030.

A new study from consumer spending site WalletHub recently ranked the “Best States to Live” across the country, with Idaho grabbing the top spot in the study. The other Mountain States scored relatively well, with Wyoming coming in sixth and Montana 14th, though Washington state ranked in the bottom half at 33rd.

It's no coincidence that the top states in the country for growing hourly wages embrace limited regulations, prioritize tax relief, and favor a small government approach. Combining growing wages, affordable purchasing power, and a favorable business climate means higher productivity and economic growth.

Maintaining a competitive economy requires constant attention to workforce development, business investment, tax and regulatory restraint, and the policies that encourage innovation and opportunity.

As electricity demand accelerates across the West, maintaining Montana's competitive advantage will require continued investment in both energy production and the infrastructure needed to deliver it.

Montana has become one of America's economic success stories, but a new study released today by the Mountain States Policy Center argues the Treasure State risks falling behind unless it continues reforming its tax code.

Montana's prudent fiscal management and tax reforms to improve economic competitiveness have positioned the state well.

Montana policymakers have pursued one of the nation's most ambitious state-level housing reform agendas. Even with those efforts, it will take time to mitigate the growing tension between economic growth and housing attainability.

Over the past decade, individual income tax collections increased from $1.06 billion in Fiscal Year 2014 to $2.24 billion in Fiscal Year 2024. That's an increase of more than 111 percent.

Data centers have the potential to be an economic boon to the regions in which they are built, along with laying the groundwork for advances in medicine, national defense, and other research. Slowing data center development must be done based on local context, including the consumption levels of the data center and regional water availability.

Prevention measures such as forest thinning, prescribed burns, fuels reduction projects, and infrastructure hardening receive far less attention than suppression measures, even though they can reduce the severity and cost of future fires.

For Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming – the 2025 rankings reinforce the idea that fiscal conservatism is no longer simply a political slogan in the region, but a defining component of economic strategy and regional identity. It’s also a reminder for Washington of the important fiscal reforms needed.