Employment Growth and Party Control of Legislatures

Sherry noticed that employment growth data in the Albuquerque Journal correlated with her recollection of red-blue party maps in recent elections.  When she googled "state lagislature control by party" she found that correlated, too.  So we wrote a letter to the editor.  Usually, they ignore mine and publish hers, so this time we both our names on it.

According to the regional map of employment growth in the Business Outlook of December 6, 2010, the only states of the Southwest region that had positive employment growth from September 2009 to September 2010 are Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Those are also the only states in the region where the state legislature is controlled by Republicans.  Don't believe it?  Check Wikipedia's maps at  State Legislature (United States).

New Mexicans can join their more prosperous neighbors in 2012 by dumping a bunch of Democrats from the Senate and few more from the House to get a state legislature that will encourage growth and economic development through smaller, better government rather than discourage it through more regulation, larger taxation, and more subsidization of favored industries.