Blue State Blues

Speaking recently at the Illinois Policy Institute Joel Kotkin opened by telling the assembled Illini that Indiana was eating their lunch.

Surrounded by states with Republican governors, Illinois cannot compete. It is becoming yet another blue state basket case.

Indiana is open for business. So is Wisconsin. So now is Michigan. Compared to these states, to say nothing of Louisiana and Texas, Illinois is in serious trouble.

If individual states are policy laboratories, then clearly blue state policies cannot compete against red state policies. 

It’s not news. It should not be news. But it’s still worth remembering. And let's not forget the last gift that Illinois bestowed on America: Barack Obama.

Here are Kotkin’s remarks: