KNOWING THE PATH IS DIFFERENT THAN TAKING IT:

The Path to Prosperity (Amela Karabegovic and Alan W. Dowd, August 7, 2008, The American)

In 2005, the most recent year for which data are available, Colorado, Georgia, Delaware, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Tennessee, and Texas—states with consistently strong records of promoting economic freedom—had an average per capita GDP that was more than $4,300 above the U.S. average. Their total growth from 1981 to 2005 was nearly 20 percentage points higher than the U.S. average.

In the latest EFNA index, Delaware is the top-ranked state or province in all of North America while Texas is tied for second with the Canadian province of Alberta. And for good reason: Delaware has the smallest size of government at the subnational level and ranks first among U.S. states on key taxation measures; Texas ranks first in labor-market freedom at the all-government level and has no state income tax. Delaware and Texas also rank high in the categories of government transfers and subsidies as a percentage of GDP at the all-government level.

By comparison, West Virginia, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Rhode Island—states with low levels of economic freedom—had an average per-capita GDP that was more than $4,300 below the U.S. average. Their total growth from 1981 to 2005 was 10 percentage points below the U.S. average.

Again, this is predictable: all of these states rank in the bottom half of the nation on taxation at the all-government level, labor-market freedom at the state/local level, and size of government at the all-government level.

Even if it weren't just 68 degrees here today, we'd pity folks who don't live in New Hampshire.

Posted by Orrin Judd at August 7, 2008 12:09 PM