What Europe can learn from America’s states
America’s advantage over Europe is not an accident of history but fueled by federalism. That’s a key point from Douglas Carswell’s piece in The Telegraph.
“America is thriving because her states are free to thrive,” writes Carswell. “Before they slip any further into economic immiseration, Europeans might want to understand some of the changes happening at a state level in America.”
By allowing states to compete, experiment, and chart their own course on taxes, education, energy, and labor policy, the U.S. has unlocked growth and innovation that a centralized European model struggles to match. Carswell also points out that much of the U.S. growth is now located in the American South, where there is more deregulation and freedom oriented policy-making taking place.
The Telegraph notes that Carswell is publishing an entire series this week on that very topic. His other currently published piece is titled, “The secret reason why two ‘backward’ American states produce more cars each year than the whole UK.”
There’s also a lesson for America itself: returning even more power to the states would strengthen policy innovation and renew our tradition of self-government.
— The Federalism Beat