WSJ: 'The South’s Economy Is Falling Behind: ‘All of a Sudden the Money Stops Flowing’'

Richard Florida, an urbanization expert at the University of Toronto.

stopped right there

Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas will always be poor. Texas and Alabama are booming right now.

I call BS on this article.

states like texas, florida, Tennessee, and North Carolina are among the fastest growing states in nation with expanding economies.

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the article has adopted the OT ruling that Texas and Florida do not count as part of "the South"

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Tennessee? It kind of loses credibility to me when they selectively choose what's the South.

Florida absolutely is despite much of it not having the same characteristics. Texas is huge so a different animal. East Texas is definitely southern though.

Is it the no state taxes in Florida/Texas, or the education in those States?

Texas and Florida are filled with educated transplants. Atlanta and Nashville are also filled with educated transplants. The rest of the Deep South states are lagging behind big time. Lack of commitment to education and draconian conservative policies at the state level will always keep the Southern states at the bottom.

Cities and states with elite Universities that produce an attractive talent pool are always going to get the jobs.

I'm having a hard time copy and pasting for some reason but the article doesn't include Texas and Florida except for a part in parenthesis that says the numbers are still lower but not as bad if you include both states (and Maryland and Delaware)

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the article has adopted the OT ruling that Texas and Florida do not count as part of "the South

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Is true. It's not like the panhandle is booming outside of tourist season and that's the only southern part. Most of the Texas story isn't super relevant.

I'm going to actually read the article in a minute but I presume when all the surrounding states have the business friendly tax structures and regs, the ones with the better education and infrastructure end up getting all of the businesses.

Nashville, Atlanta, Birmingham, Huntsville. Charlotte.

There comes a point there needs to be infrastructure spending and education spending or you're not going to keep companies around because families won't want to move there.

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“Those policies worked before, then they became fundamental constraints on the [South’s] long-term growth,” said Richard Florida, an urbanization expert at the University of Toronto.

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I went to school with some people from Canada and one of my best friends is Canadian. They are good people, but they know nothing about America especially the American south. Taking advice on America from a Canadian is like asking a penguin for advice to survive in the Sahara.

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In order for my Harahan-based, 1955-founded company to sell our rescue device to Los Angeles Fire Dept., I had to spend a day and a half filling out documents proving we never OWNED SLAVES!! 

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No way.