Elon Musk and his electric car company Tesla are unlikely to build their next job-creating venture in the Golden State, where the company is based. California’s environmental review laws are so cumbersome that the green company is considering several red states as potential hosts for its new factory.

The pension cuts Illinois passed with so much kicking and screaming were merely the prelude to bigger problems. Chicago faces a dangerously underfunded system and a looming half-billion contribution increase in 2015 with no plan for how to pay it. Meanwhile, a thousand miles to the southwest, a more prudent and responsible model of fiscal governance seems to be taking place in Texas. Blue states, take note.