I think the fastest way to put and end to garbage like this is to give states more power. Businesses will just move out of states with archaic legislatures like this one to a neighboring state that offers better incentives. Once the state treasury is empty, the legislature will come to their senses pretty quickly. On the other hand, if the government is handing out money to everyone, there is no incentive to move. Most countries have no opportunity to create internal competition. We do and we should take full advantage of it.
It's called "a majority coalition" (or at least, a potential one). Economic libertarians, business interests, and religious fundamentalists were forced together in the 60s and 70s to try to stop getting steamrolled by the unionists, city-dwellers, and progressives.
No major shift has occurred since then. Businessmen and rich people swung for Obama in '08, but I expect that was a temporary swing due to the unpopularity of Bush. Anyone concerned about fiscal responsibility can't like having an all-Democratic government.
Unfortunately, coalition politics means that you're seldom allowed to have a politician who can balance a budget and has no strong desire to enforce his religion by law. The democratic sausage, it is ugly.
Good point. I haven't quite figured out how to address this problem yet. I would hope that the free market would just cancel this incentive out. If the fundy legislature in the next state over is offering low taxes, the progressive legislature will offer low taxes as well to compete. You're right though in that fundy law does seem to align with corporate interests quite often.
From my perspective, our local politics are hopeless because my state is controlled by religious fundamentalists. The feds exist to protect me from those around me by limiting their ability to change my state to Jesus Land by enforcing the constitution.
The same people who are religious fundamentalists are often literal constitutionalists too, tho'. To all intents and purposes it's the Book of Jefferson to them. That sort of dynamic tension is generally a good and creative thing (the dialectic, Marxists would call it), and of course you as an individual are free to practice regulatory arbitrage.
