Odds are that readers of Anchor Rising have come across it, already, but Ed Achorn raised the apropos problem, yetserday:

Rhode Island, according to Forbes, suffers from job-killing regulatory burdens, high taxes and steep energy costs, reflected in an astonishingly poor growth rate in gross state product of 0.9 percent over five years. The only states that performed more pitifully during that period were the Rust Belt disasters of Indiana (0.6), Ohio (0.4) and Michigan (minus 0.9).
It was not a question of factors beyond our political control, such as geography. Nearby New Hampshire (19), and even Massachusetts (34) and Connecticut (35), had significantly higher growth rates.
In a healthier state, such a frightening report card might prod the public to turn off the TV, call their legislators, convene protests, write letters and demand the politicians’ heads on a platter. Leaders, driven by shame or fear, might produce legislation to turn this around.
But here, in the land of zombies, no one apologizes, no one is held accountable, no one even seems to care.

It’s really the darndest thing, and I bet we’ll see it again in the next election cycle. At some point, the parasites have so thoroughly captured their host that there’s no salvific possibility.