Politicians, put away your paint brushes and let the economy thrive

In this column a few weeks ago, I called attention to a slowing U.S. economy, using as evidence the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s “leading indicators” maps of the 50 states. The maps showed how a slowdown reflected progressively across the nation’s landscape. Indirectly, they also suggested that U.S. trade wars were penalizing growth for manufacturing states that export, as well as farming regions that had been, pre-trade wars, heavy sellers of grain and soy beans to China.

The latest maps, which came in a bit behind schedule, help illustrate one of the key lessons of economic policymaking: When you play favorites, one state’s prosperity comes at the expense of another state’s losses.