When You Get What You Ask For

... but not quite what you wanted. From The Other McCain: What Happens When Liberals ‘Succeed’

Liberalism is about winning elections. Whatever the actual results of liberal policies may be, in terms of the well-being of the people who vote for liberals, are of no real consequence. So long as liberals keep winning elections, they consider their policies successful. We see this all the time in places like Baltimore, Philadelphia and St. Louis where, no matter how objectively bad things get — no matter how much poverty, misery and violence prevail — Democrats keep getting re-elected.

There are several examples. The exodus of business, including the Chicago Bears, Caterpillar, Tyson, and more from the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois. But this is really about an international comparison. It seems Alabama is more prosperous than Canada.

Yes, Alabama! If anyone wonders why Canada is now lagging behind Alabama, let me make a digression. About 30 years ago, I noticed an emerging theme in Democratic messaging. Our problem, they said, was a “growing gap between rich and poor.” This was the theme of numerous newspaper columns and a talking point in speeches by Democratic politicians, and it got me to wondering why this gap was growing.

Click thru for details.

I have been reading a few stories on this transformation. While Canada has been stagnating economically, and even falling behind, Alabama has spent a long time pursuing economic growth. Using the high-tech firms in and around Huntsville as a focus, using the universities as multiple foci, doing whatever they can to attract and reward growth.