A Striking Contrast

For those who want to believe that taxes and regulation don't affect the economy, contrast these two articles:

High taxes and lots of rules prompt some firms to leave state - from the San Francisco Chronicle

Florida's job creation grows for the 15th straight month - a recent press release from Jeb

Now I'm not convinced that the job growth here in Florida is as rosy as Jeb would have you believe. Most of the growth that I've seen lately has been in the low wage world. For the better, higher paying jobs, the market here is still terrible, just like everywhere else. But regardless, the economic lesson here is unavoidable: people don't like onerous taxation and obnoxious over-regulation.

This is something that economists, or even Economics 101 graduates, have known for years. However, the tax and spenders still haven't recognized this reality. A large chunk of the SF Chronicle is devoted to bemoaning the fact that other states are poaching California businesses and using financial incentives, both direct and indirect, to do so.

Maybe it's time for the next governor of California to take a long hard look at the effects of out-of-control government on the state's economy.