A reader writes:
In comparing Massachusetts and Texas, what do you think would happen to the poverty rate in MA if it shared a border with Mexico? Furthermore, if MA is such a success story, why, according to Pew, did the state experience a net loss of 128,000 people from 2005-2007 while TX experienced a gain of 430,000?
More broadly, comparing states with much different sizes, geography and demographics is pretty problematic. This is why comparing TX with CA makes more sense than MA. Interestingly, if you compare MA with neighboring NH, one finds that MA has an unemployment rate of 7.8% versus 4.9% for NH. Coincidentally – or not - the Mercatus Center ranks NH as the most economically free state in the country, while MA checks in at #46.
Another writes:
As a Texan, I thought I'd point out one of the main reasons Texas is doing better than many other states: we have far tougher real estate regulations than most states do.
In Texas, per Texas Law 50 (a)(6), you can't refinance for more than your original mortgage amount. Why is that important? Because while the rest of the country was using their homes as ATMs and over-leveraging themselves, Texans couldn't do that. Therefore homes in Texas weren't as overvalued as homes in other states, so when the crash came it didn't hurt us as much. Not only that, but because our lifestyles weren't dependent upon the value of our homes, we didn't have the same pinch in consumption.
Isn't it ironic that one of the reddest states has some of the bluest real estate laws? This is yet another example of how Republicans have abandoned conservatism. Today's GOP considers regulating pretty much anything to be a bad move, but it didn't use to be that way.
Update from another reader:
I thought that Mercatus "study" your reader cited looked familiar; turns out I read about it earlier today in an article on Salon that basically tore it apart. A Koch Brother-founded thinktank using dubious and laughable criteria of what "freedom" is? Gee, what a surprise that every major blue state ranks at the bottom of the list.
The Dish 