Many years ago, I represented a Japanese corporation that was being sued in Miichigan. A couple of years earlier, after much thought, its board of directors had decided to opened a plant in Michigan. They had hesitated to do so for two reasons: they feared being sued and they were afraid that their business would be hurt by all the crime they'd heard took place in the U.S. As it turned out, they were right on the first worry (hence my involvement) but wrong on the second; they'd picked a very law-abiding community in which to locate the plant, and the employees did not steal, embezzle, or commit acts of violence against each other. Apart from the one lawsuit in which I defended the company, they seemed to do quite well.

When morally corrupted governments take those things that you have worked hard to produce it is called taxation.  

In both cases the people that took what didn't belong to them believed they had the right to do so.  In both cases the producing individual gets screwed, either by some dude wearing a mask or by some bureaucrat wearing an expensive suit.

Of course some taxation is necessary.  However, we've allowed this government to become so bloated and intrusive that we have honestly forgotten what the true role of government is supposed to be!  This budget crisis will have some positive effects as it will force bureaucrats to ponder the role of government going forward.  It is too bad that it has taken such hard times to force change.

We've always been attached to the national economy.

Until this last national recovery.  Millions of new jobs nationally.  Including auto makers.

One state disconnected.  Michigan.