Getting Better, Not Bitter, in Pennsylvania

WebMemo from the Heritage Foundation about whether Pennsylvanians should be “bitter” over all the jobs “lost”.

I would point readers to my commentary on Prospering in Pennsylvania, but also comparisons of Pennsylvania to other states, in state GDP growth, and on tax competitiveness.

Also see this related post on free trade on this post on Ohio vs. Texas (which could be applied to Pennsylvania to a lesser degree).

The bottom line: PA’s economy is growing, and workers and residents are better off than they were 20 or 30 years ago. But lower-taxed, right-to-work state are growing faster than PA (and higher tax states like MI, OH, and NY are losing residents at a faster clip). In short, there isn’t a problem with too little government failing to project us from “lost jobs”, but too much government dampening economic growth.