Jade Queen

Global Markets in Review: Reversal in Financial Markets

It would be interesting to do a map with the United States parceled out and colored by state. North Dakota is apparently doing better than many other states, and the guess as to why I have seen mentioned is that it has its own state bank through which it runs taxes and state business.

From what I have read, Its state bank does not compete with its private banks, but cooperates on vetting and funding projects within the state, which would keep focus and interest in how the collateral is doing fairly close.

I also think that some U.S. states are better at respecting the property of modest-income people than others. Jane Jacobs documented some sad stories of government-enforced takings in The Death and Life of Great American Cities.

We have takings going on now with unfunded federal mandates that end up enriching the usual suspects.

People get elected to local office promising to represent local people. Once elected, they cave when the feds threaten to incarcerate them.

When too-big-to-fails offer to indebt citizens to keep the politicians out of jail, guess who wins. The high-paying local jobs themselves give the politicians too much to lose. They cannot resist this temptation, and they rationalize however they need to get these deals done. If they have to fire whistle-blowers on citizen committees, they just do it.

I think there are some jurisdictions where people are sophisticated enough to figure out how to not get taken by this pattern.

Perhaps that is the secret of North Dakota.

If your people are not paying exhorbitant debt loads (to out-of-state entities) on water, sewer, and other utility bills, it would certainly help to get mortgages paid.

On the other hand, high bills for necessary expenses can clear land of less-advantaged people for the plans of more-advantaged. Raising taxes is another gadget in this tool box.