Want a Rocketing Economy?
How would you like to see your state generate thousands of new jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in new economic growth in as few as five years without costing the taxpayer a dime, just by increasing freedom, federalism and local control?
That's what the Prosperity States Initiative would likely deliver for the State of Arizona according to Dr. Mark Lutter in Prosperity Now - Arizona.
The Prosperity States Compact offers local communities the ability to opt-into the state-of-the-art in pro-growth, pro-jobs regulatory and fiscal policy by forming a Prosperity District. Once formed, a Prosperity District will catapult that community to the top economic liberty ranking in the nation - and perhaps the world if Congress blesses the Compact.
Think of a Prosperity District as like a charter school - only instead of being focused on education policy, a Prosperity District delivers the full spectrum of policy reforms we've been promised for any local community that wants them.
Dr. Lutter's new policy brief Prosperity Now - Arizona shows that the likely results of forming Prosperity Districts in Arizona would not just be good government, but also a rocketing economy both locally and statewide. His economic model can be deployed to assess the economic effects for every state that wants to join the Prosperity States Compact.
Here are just a few of his findings, which assume that the district only delivers state and local reform:
After 5-year period, assuming 400,000 residents live and work within one or more Prosperity Districts, annual statewide spillover effects will generate between $432 million and $562 million more GDP per annum than in the absence of districts;
Median worker (income $39,000) inside district will see gains of $858 - $1115 annually at the end of a 5-year period;
400 new jobs created for every 10,000 workers employed in Prosperity Districts over a 10-year period; and
After 5-year period, assuming 400,000 residents live and work within one or more Prosperity Districts, annual GDP gains would be $343 million to $446 million greater than a comparable city.
But that's just the tip of the iceberg. Here's what Dr. Lutter reports if Congress were to consent to the Prosperity States Compact and allow its regulatory and fiscal reforms to achieve the status of federal law:
After 20-year period, assuming 400,000 residents live and work within one or more Prosperity Districts, the statewide spillover effect will generate between $3.5 billion and $5.5 billion more GDP per annum than in the absence of districts;
District-level annual GDP growth would be 22% to 33% greater than a comparable city; and
After 20-year period, assuming 400,000 residents live and work within one or more Prosperity Districts, gains are $2.8 billion to $4.4 billion more GDP per annum than a comparable city.
Like all economic models, an element of guesswork is involved in Dr. Lutter's estimates. But the methodology used by Dr. Lutter builds on standard models assessing the effects of economic liberty rankings on economic growth, and the effects of localized economic growth on a statewide economy. Viewed together with the successes of Hong Kong, Singapore, Estonia, Disney World and U.K. Enterprise Zones reported here, here and here, Dr. Lutter's findings certainly constitute important additional evidence that deep regulatory and fiscal reforms combined with strong local control will likely deliver a rocketing local and statewide economy.
Isn't it time for your state to join the Prosperity States Initiative?