David Brooks takes a look at California's plight. Once the most dynamic State in the country, it is now an economic and demographic basket case. Once the most favored destination of the middle class and entrepreneurs, it now repels both. What happened? Following Joel Kotkin he ascribes the decline to the rise of public employee unions, environmentalism, and an irresponsible elite as well as to tax reformers and anti-government skeptics. Brook's argument is essentially that only deregulation of business coupled with generously funded government programs that support business can restore prosperity. I don't think that's possible in the current political climate. This is a time for retrenchment and prosperity, if it returns, will be spearheaded by the private sector, not the government.
Read Brooks' article here.
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