The states of Missouri and Kansas recently made history by agreeing to no longer pay companies to hop back and forth across the state line in the Kansas City metropolitan area. It’s the first such legally binding deal between two states in U.S. history. It also strikes at a left-right consensus that could save tens of billions of dollars for vital public services. This idea should be adopted more widely.
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The same problem the Kansas City area suffered has plagued many metro areas that straddle state lines, including New York City, Memphis, Charlotte, Cincinnati and Boston. Governors in those states should follow the Missouri-Kansas lead. Indeed, New Jersey officials are reportedly studying how the precedent could be used to cool off their state’s job wars with New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.
Compacts to end economic wars between the states need not be limited to border localities. There are statewide compact initiatives, too. One was introduced in the New York assembly last February and it has sparked interest elsewhere in the country.
