Our education record is lackluster. Our rich folks don't do much, relatively speaking, in terms of philanthropy. Venture capital is virtually non-existent. Highways are horrible. In short, we're poor, undereducated and lack infrastructure.
Government can do only so much to turn around such systemic problems.
And we'd be more successful persuading voters of the need for new taxes and programs if we'd embrace, rather than instantly rush to dispute, the grim findings of national surveys. Same thing on the tourism study. Let's not kid ourselves. We have few major tourist attractions. More than half our landmass is alcohol-free, by law, which means you'll play hell trying to find even decent restaurants in those counties.