Mark Spahn sent a link to this blog post from Power Line. Texas comes as close as any state to embodying the conservative ideals of self-sufficiency, personal responsibility, and individual liberty. Is it any wonder that the state is flourishing, while states such as California flounder?
Addendum: There's an old saying to the effect that you shouldn't kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. Isn't that what progressives do when they penalize the successful? It destroys initiative, which is the foundation of prosperity. It's as though progressives are stupid. They think that high rates of taxation and regulation will not affect initiative and will not, therefore, affect prosperity. We can have it all! We can have liberty and security! We can have prosperity and equality! We can have a dead goose and golden eggs!
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 