California Not the Only Big State Successfully Keeping Economic Prosperity At Bay

It's hardly a newsflash, but the WSJ's Op-Ed page focuses in on the comparison of energy policy, and thus economic performance, in Texas and California.  The money lines:

In short, Texas loves being an oil-producing state while California is embarrassed by it. And it's no accident that Texas has been leading the nation in job creation since the recession ended. The energy boom is creating thousands of jobs related to drilling but also in downstream industries such as transportation, high-technology, construction and manufacturing. The Texas jobless rate is 6.4% while California's is still the third highest at 9.4%.

It's an old story but worth continually pointing out, and Mark Perry has more here.  But California is not the only big state with a deteriorating fiscal outlook and that can't seem to shoot straight on the matter of economic growth.  New York state is sacrificing an economic bonanza on the altar of environmental zealotry as well.  A new study produced by The Empire Center for New York State Policy concludes:

[The data] suggest that over the past decade, had New York State counties on the Marcellus Shale been allowed to use these resources, economic growth would have been substantially higher—at up to 15 percent for a given four-year period, or 6 percent greater than would otherwise be expected. This corresponds to a potential $8 billion in extra income in upstate New York.

Most of the money would go to upstate residents directly while the economic benefits, direct and indirect, would also accrue to the state as a whole.  Unfortunately, for the 8 million residents upstate, they are outnumbered by the 11 million downstate who don't share their values and don't have their interests in mind.