Kotkin: Golden Gulf Coast

Demographer Joel Kotkin, who writes for Forbes, has a very interesting column on the emergence of the Gulf Coast as the U.S. economic powerhouse of the coming decades. He cites a number of issues of relevance but the one that makes the most sense is a difference in attitude.

'Tude, positive or negative, has a lot of influence in the receptivity a region shows toward economic development. The West Coast has gone green, plus the longshoremen's union is militant. The East Coast is sclerotic, corrupt, and heavily unionized as well.

Only the Gulf Coast has the pro-business, anti-labor attitudes companies seek. Then add in the widening of the Panama Canal, so many large container ships can transit directly from Asia to the Gulf.

You don't have to guess where business will move. Buying a quarter section of undeveloped land near Houston looks very attractive as a medium-term investment.