You're overthinking it. Silicon Valley provides good models for building businesses. The state and local governments are masters of burning money and getting no

You're overthinking it. Silicon Valley provides good models for building businesses. The state and local governments are masters of burning money and getting nothing from it. As a taxpayer in California, I cannot track where most of my money goes. I can't ask my representative or either senator where it goes and get a straight answer. (Disclaimer: I still like Boxer.) It's a little unfair to compare states, though. Texas, for instance, has lots of natural gas resources, oil production and refinement (especially along the gulf coast) among other things. Take a look at these: http://img.skitch.com/20090710-x3sceq4i2pq4hwaemawtd5afrd.render.png http://img.skitch.com/20090710-x3sceq4i2pq4hwaemawtd5afrd.re... http://img.skitch.com/20090710-nsuaeu7ch7ayhci6fp5yemeb5x.render.png http://img.skitch.com/20090710-nsuaeu7ch7ayhci6fp5yemeb5x.re... A lot of California land is reserved by the federal government. I think it's somewhere around 45%. In Texas, very little is reserved.