I wouldn't call it "crashing", but... And it is not just the south: Wisconsin and Kansas joined, and Michigan and Indiana and Ohio are teetering on the edge:
John Cole: The Decline of the South: "...Good piece in the WSJ about the crashing economy in the south":
Sharon Nunn: The South’s Economy Is Falling Behind: ‘All of a Sudden the Money Stops Flowing’: "Since 2009, the South’s convergence has turned to divergence, as the region recorded the country’s slowest growth in output and wages, the lowest labor-force participation rate and the highest unemployment rate.... Low taxes and low wages that attracted factories and blue-collar jobs—have proven inadequate in an expanding economy where the forces of globalization favor cities with concentrations of capital and educated workers. '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.... In part because of its legacy of racial segregation the region has, relative to others, underinvested in human capital.... Against the Northeast...the South’s per capita income peaked at 79.1% of the Northeast’s level, and has since fallen to 71.6%.... Sunbelt cities like Charlotte and Atlanta have attracted both wealthier white-collar workers and retirees....Texas, with its own unique economy... is relatively urban, with five major metro centers... a thriving tech sector and ample reserves of oil and gas....Many economists say the most effective way for the South to regain its momentum would be to invest more in education, which would over time create a more skilled workforce to attract employers. But Mississippi State University economist Alan Barefield notes that is difficult to reconcile with southern states’ historic desire to keep spending and taxes low...
#noted
