America's Red State Growth Corridors (The Low-tax, energy-rich regions in the heartland)

In the wake of the 2012 presidential election, some political commentators have written political obituaries of the "red" or conservative-leaning states, envisioning a brave new world dominated by fashionably blue bastions in the Northeast or California. But political fortunes are notoriously fickle, while economic trends tend to be more enduring.

These trends point to a U.S. economic future dominated by four growth corridors that are generally less dense, more affordable, and markedly more conservative and pro-business: the Great Plains, the Intermountain West, the Third Coast (spanning the Gulf states from Texas to Florida), and the Southeastern industrial belt.

Overall, these corridors account for 45% of the nation's land mass and 30% of its population. Between 2001 and 2011, job growth in the Great Plains, the Intermountain West and the Third Coast was between 7% and 8%—nearly 10 times the job growth rate for the rest of the country. Only the Southeastern industrial belt tracked close to the national average.

Historically, these regions were little more than resource colonies or low-wage labor sites for richer, more technically advanced areas. By promoting policies that encourage enterprise and spark economic growth, they're catching up.

Such policies have been pursued not only by Republicans but also by Democrats who don't share their national party's notion that business should serve as a cash cow to fund ever more expensive social-welfare, cultural or environmental programs. While California, Illinois, New York, Massachusetts and Minnesota have either enacted or pursued higher income taxes, many corridor states have no income taxes or are planning, like Kansas and Louisiana, to lower or even eliminate them.

The result is that corridor states took 11 of the top 15 spots in Chief Executive magazine's 2012 review of best state business climates. California, New York, Illinois and Massachusetts were at the bottom.

There's an ongoing net migration from blue states to red states. Many people assume that red states will become bluer as a result. But it's not necessarily so.

I live in Union County, NC, which is adjacent to Mecklenburg County, which contains Charlotte. In percentage terms, Union was the fastest-growing county in the state over the last decade. I'm a native of the area, but I'm in the minority. Factually and anecdotally, the county is swarming with Northern transplants -- Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey. There seems to be a bagel shop in every strip center, and the sports bars are full of Steelers and Jets fans.

With all these blue-state folks moving in, you might think that Union County is moving to the political left. You'd be wrong. We're not getting a cross-section of, for example, former New Jersey residents. Rather, we're getting corporate relocations, entrepreneurs, and retirees. They may tawk funny, but they vote conservatively, as the voting statistics show.

In 1980, Carter edged Reagan, 10,073 to 9,012. In 2012, Romney easily beat Obama, 61,101 to 32,473. Note both the immense growth in the total vote, and the big move toward the Republicans. This trend holds up for Senate, Gubernatorial, and local races, too.

So, welcome blue-staters!

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