The Public Policy Institute of New York State, the research arm of the state Business Council, released a study Tuesday comparing average annual wages, electricity costs, commercial rents and tax burdens across the United States.

To the surprise of absolutely no one, New York ranked high on the list of most expensive places to do business in America, finishing second to be exact. Who are we behind? Hawaii. Of course, Hawaii is a couple of thousand miles from the Continental United States and costs of business due to that separation are understandably high. New York…What’s our excuse?

In other, surely unrelated news…

The state’s workforce has swelled to its highest level in more than 12 years, putting more pressure on the state budget, according to a report issued Wednesday by a conservative think tank.

The state had 235,014 full-time equivalent workers on the payroll at the end of September, 3,158 more than last year. That’s the most of any year since 1994.

Also, in a surprising twist, two senior economists find that higher taxes lead to lower population growth…