Columnist Thomas Sowell points out in an op-ed today the harmful effects of bad economic policies on job creation in "rust belt" states:

In short, the rust belts have been killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.

He concludes:

Jobs are always disappearing. The big question is why they are
not being replaced by new jobs. Rust belt policies that drove out old
jobs also keep out new jobs.

Chief among these harmful policies is compulsory unionism. According to a National Institute for Labor Relations Research fact sheet, Right to Work states outperform forced unionism states, which include all of the rust belt, on a litany of economic growth indicators.

Most notably, with regard to job growth, non-farm private sector job growth in Right to Work states nearly doubled that of forced unionism states between 1996-2006. NILRR also notes that Real Personal Income growth also was nearly double in Right to Work states between 2001-2006.

Sounds like the golden goose has fled for greener pastures.