This Washington Examiner article was so surprising, it almost diverted me from MAGA politics, and thanks to Dan Hannan for this insightful revelation:
All 50 states are now richer than Britain
The Gross Domestic Product per capita comparison has the 50th ranking state, Mississippi, higher than Britain.
[I]n Britain…commentators were quick to point out that, while the raw data might show that the Magnolia State had a higher GDP per head, these figures didn’t take account of how far your money went. Factor in purchasing power parity, they protested, and Britain regained its lead. ‘Ah,’ Mississippians said, ‘but that’s only if you use PPP for the U.S. as a whole’ — a Mississippi-only PPP figure would push Britain behind again.
Double ouch! All 50 of our states have a higher GDP per capita than Britain! This used not to be the case, back before “progressive” economic policies sabotaged European prosperity.
Twenty years ago, living standards in the U.S., Britain, and much of Western Europe were comparable. Since then, the American economy has grown 60% more than those of Britain and the European Union. Why? Two factors above all: low taxes and energy abundance.
Per Hannan, Mississippi,
is still 50th out of 50, but it hums and vibrates with enterprise. In 2024, household incomes rose by 6%, the second-highest increase in the country. In the first quarter of this year, when GDP growth fell by 0.5% across the U.S. as a whole, Mississippi was one of only six states to expand its economy.
So, how did Mississippi bootstrap itself out of being an economic backwater and create a booming economy?
Deregulation. Mississippi,
always had relatively liberal employment laws, but in 2021, it dramatically deregulated occupational licensing by recognizing professional qualifications from other states across a swath of industries, thereby incentivizing the local bodies to scrap their own requirements.
And…lower tax rates:
In 2022, [Mississippi] introduced a flat tax, and this year, it became the first state to abolish income tax, as opposed to never having had it. Even before this second change comes into effect, you can feel the impact. Some $40 billion has been invested here over the past five years.
Also, education reforms. “Mississippi has reformed its schools, putting more money into classrooms and, now, giving parents more control of how to spend it. Because parents invigilate standards more thoroughly than state officials, the result is a more employable workforce.” When the blizzard of “progressive” academics and their fairyland socialist fantasies come to an end, prosperity finally arrives.
Last but not least, sane energy policy.
Perhaps most importantly, Mississippi steered clear of federal inducements to shift to renewable energy. The state uses oil, gas, and nuclear power. The result is cheap and plentiful energy, and the industries that use it are competitive. Mississippi and Alabama now produce twice as many cars between them as the U.K. — the inverse of 15 years ago.
KABOOM! Two (formerly) weak Southern state economies now manufacture twice as many cars as Britain! Clearly, something great has transformed these states (and it’s not bigger government).
Who gets credit for this two decade economic boom? It ain’t “progressive” policies. Mississippi has had Republican governors since the last Democrat governor left office in 2004. Alabama has had Republican governors since 2003, though one Republican governor forfeited office due to a sex scandal.
So, the key governmental factor is that Mississippi and Alabama have avoided two straight decades of “progressive” Democrats and their crazy, destructive policies that cripple state economies, a fate which now consumes Europe.
I don’t know how the superior economic policies of conservatism can be made more clearly understandable than ground truth facts. Those that reject facts live in delirium, yet another way to properly categorize liberal, “progressive”, woke, so-called, “minds.”
Image: Free image, Pixabay license.