In this case, ALEC has not even bothered to use an academic think tank as a front. This map purports to show the economic outlook for the states. What it actually shows, of course, is simply the degree to which business policies in the states align with ALEC’s vision of an America with no corporate taxation, no collective bargaining, and no financial or environmental regulations.

Notice the many differences between ALEC’s map and an economic-forecast map for the states map produced a year earlier by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.  One might say, “Wow, what a difference a year makes!” Or one might say, “What a difference a lack of self-serving ideology makes.”

Note: You may have to save this second map as a jpeg in order to enlarge it. Pink indicates an expected decline in economic output; green indicates economic growth, with the darker shade indicating stronger growth. Ahead of the Great Recession, several states registered the strongest level of growth, represented as blue, whereas during the Great Recession, the majority of states experienced significant declines in economic outpout, represented as red or dark red.