Ok, here it is:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122126282034130461.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries
If You Like Michigan’s Economy,
You’ll Love Obama’s
By PHIL GRAMM and MIKE SOLON
September 13, 2008; Page A13
Despite the federal government’s growing economic dominance, individual states still exercise substantial freedom in pursuing their own economic fortune — or misfortune. As a result, the states provide a laboratory for testing various policies.
In this election year, the experience of the states gives us some ability to look at the economic policies of the two presidential candidates in action. If a program is not playing in Peoria, it probably won’t work elsewhere. Americans have voted with their feet by moving to states with greater opportunities, but federal adoption of failed state programs would take away our ability to walk away from bad government.
Growth in jobs, income and population are proof that a state is prospering. But figuring out why one state does well while another struggles requires in-depth analysis. In an effort to explain differences in performance, think tanks have generated state-based economic freedom indices modeled on the World Economic Freedom Index published by The Wall Street Journal and the Heritage Foundation.
A TAX TO GRIND
Personal-income growth suffers when states adopt a tax-and-spend approach to fiscal policy. (Read more.)The Competitiveness Index created by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) identifies "16 policy variables that have a proven impact on the migration of capital — both investment capital and human capital — into and out of states." Its analysis shows that "generally speaking, states that spend less, especially on income transfer programs, and states that tax less, particularly on productive activities such as working or investing, experience higher growth rates than states that tax and spend more."
Ranking states by domestic migration, per-capita income growth and employment growth, ALEC found that from 1996 through 2006, Texas, Florida and Arizona were the three most successful states. Illinois, Ohio and Michigan were the three least successful.
The rewards for success were huge. Texas gained 1.7 million net new jobs, Florida gained 1.4 million and Arizona gained 600,000. While the U.S. average job growth percentage was 9.9%, Texas, Florida and Arizona had job growth of 18.5%, 21.4% and 28.9%, respectively.
Remarkably, a third of all the jobs in the U.S. in the last 10 years were created in these three states. While the population of the three highest-performing states grew twice as fast as the national average, per-capita real income still grew by $6,563 or 21.4% in Texas, Florida and Arizona. That’s a $26,252 increase for a typical family of four.
By comparison, Illinois gained only 122,000 jobs, Ohio lost 62,900 and Michigan lost 318,000. Population growth in Michigan, Ohio and Illinois was only 4.2%, a third the national average, and real income per capita rose by only $3,466, just 58% of the national average. Workers in the three least successful states had to contend with a quarter-million fewer jobs rather than taking their pick of the 3.7 million new jobs that were available in the three fastest-growing states.
In Michigan, the average family of four had to make ends meet without an extra $8,672 had their state matched the real income growth of the three most successful states. Families in Michigan, Ohio and Illinois struggled not because they didn’t work hard enough, long enough or smart enough. They struggled because too many of their elected leaders represented special interests rather than their interests.
What explains this relative performance over the last 10 years? The simple answer is that governance, taxes and regulatory policy matter. The playing field among the states was not flat. Business conditions were better in the successful states than in the lagging ones. Capital and labor gravitated to where the burdens were smaller and the opportunities greater.
It costs state taxpayers far less to succeed than to fail. In the three most successful states, state spending averaged $5,519 per capita. In the three least successful states, state spending averaged $6,484 per capita. Per capita taxes were $7,063 versus $8,342.
There also appears to be a clear difference between union interests and the worker interests. Texas, Florida and Arizona are right-to-work states, while Michigan, Ohio and Illinois are not. Michigan, Ohio and Illinois impose significantly higher minimum wages than Texas, Florida and Arizona. Yet with all the proclaimed benefits of unionism and higher minimum wages, Texas, Florida and Arizona workers saw their real income grow more than twice as fast as workers in Michigan, Ohio and Illinois.
Incredibly, the business climate in Michigan is now so unfavorable that it has overwhelmed the considerable comparative advantage in auto production that Michig
See Obama supports are so tied up with personal attacks they disort the facts. It does not matter who Gramm is, he lays out facts that are true and makes sense on why Obama’s plan is a failure. Can you not seperate facts from personal feelings? Obama said "Americans cling to their guns and religion" so if you are dismissing people for what they have said… then why are you still listening to Obama?
I sure would believe them because his plan, according to BASIC economics is a failure waiting to happen. Socialism is not our economic system.
February 4th, 2010 at 7:33 pm
No they believe in pixies and fairy dust.
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February 4th, 2010 at 7:57 pm
Was this article written by the same PHIL GRAMM who called Americans "whiners" ???
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February 4th, 2010 at 8:25 pm
If Greenspan said McCain’s tax cuts would destroy the country would you believe him?
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February 4th, 2010 at 8:54 pm
For the record Phil Graham was McCain’s Economic Adviser and Co-Chairman of McCain’s Campaign. Graham is also responsible for the Enron Scandal that he and his wife made millions; and the same person who called Americans suffering economically whiners. Graham’s credibility is tarnished and your efforts revealed as mudslinging.
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February 4th, 2010 at 9:31 pm
Why would you believe this crap!
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February 4th, 2010 at 10:08 pm
McCain is just as bad!
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http://www.youtube.com/user/shanklinmike
February 4th, 2010 at 10:33 pm
I sure would believe them because his plan, according to BASIC economics is a failure waiting to happen. Socialism is not our economic system.
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February 4th, 2010 at 10:48 pm
No.
If Perot told me Obama’s economic plan is Doomsday for America, I would believe him….
Perot the Graph Chart guy…
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February 4th, 2010 at 11:11 pm
Ha. Phil Gramm, the author of the article, is the guy who said just a couple of months ago that the economy was doing great, that it was just a matter of changing one’s attitude, that we just needed to stop whining and think positively. He was also a top adviser to McCain until recently. This article has no credibility, zero.
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February 5th, 2010 at 12:01 am
Wall Street announded it would *crash* if Obama got elected
but If E.F.Hutton would endorse Obama ..then I would listen
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February 5th, 2010 at 12:37 am
Gramm is responsible for the Enron Loophole which contributes to high energy costs for millions.
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Fail
February 5th, 2010 at 1:18 am
I might, but it doesn’t so what’s your point?
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February 5th, 2010 at 2:00 am
This is *NOT* the Wall Street Journal saying this, this is an op-ed (opinion/editorial) piece in the Wall Street Journal.
Raising taxes is never good for an economy, but Phil Graham is a tool and has shown that on at least a couple occasions. I don’t put much of any credit into what he has to say, even if I might agree with certain fundamental economic principles he cites.
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February 5th, 2010 at 2:16 am
No, they wouldn’t…They only believe the things that they agree with…
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February 5th, 2010 at 3:03 am
Gramm also said we would go into a DEPRESSION if we passed the Clinton tax plan in 1993
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February 5th, 2010 at 3:42 am
Independent economists say otherwise.
This is clearly spin. Michigan, Ohio and Illinois are losing jobs to overseas markets – thats why their economies are failing, nothing else. Texas, Florida and Arizona have large numbers of illegal immigrants that boost the economy by working for less, hence the lower minimum wages and higher profits for projects using this cheap labor.
Obama has specific plans for small businesses which are not accounted for in this discourse.
And clearly this idea that McCain’s plan will somehow boost the economy is stupid. What he wants to do is only a slight modification of what has got us here in the first place…. if it would have worked, Bush would have done it already – It’s essentially his plan with a few modifications….which is why it will fail…again..
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February 5th, 2010 at 3:55 am
Thanks for your well thought out written economic assessment yet statistics can deceive. They only are a snapshot depending on the quality of the assumptions and starting points of concern and numbers used.
Every statistic is MORE than equal to an actual LIFE and family. That’s what I’ve seen.
Yes, not all is as bad statistically and can America survive and thrive again? I think yes.
I talked with an older man who just retired from Michigan auto industry. Now this human life and family were in total agreement with me from what we’ve seen on the ground level. WE HAVE BEEN SOLD OUT BY AMERICAN BUSINESSES AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND OUR GOVERMENT. I knew while working at KU that there would be profits in the short term from NAFTA but wait to see what happens.
Well, that has to be fixed. Without going further we have to fix NAFTA! Period. We have to penalize outsourcing of American jobs. Those who want to make as much profit from Americans as possible, fine, but NOT AT OUR EXPENSE AND LIVES ANYMORE!!!
The Best thing we can do as Americans is to have an all out American Emergency Imperative for alternative energy. No outsourcing, all jobs made in this country, all profits shared among us hard working innovative Americans. You, your children, your children’s children will be thanking us eternally!
Let’s do it!
Than let’s work on loopholes and attorney/lawyer greed at EVERY level of power in this country. That’s another serious problem and topic.
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Some personal experience
February 5th, 2010 at 4:29 am
you bet ye.
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