Highlight Midwest

This morning’s Wall Street Journal has an article cheerily entitled Midwest States Cut Spending in a Hurry as Region’s Economy Deteriorates but hey turns out the news isn’t all bad:

…the outlook is less dire than for states hardest hit by the housing market, such as Florida and California, says Ernest Goss, regional economics chairman at Creighton. “The pneumonia on both coasts is a bad cold here,” he says.

…

The Midwestern economy has diversified since the deep recession of the early 1980s. Cities such as Chicago broadened their economic base from manufacturing to include more professional and financial services. A booming farm economy and growth in the ethanol industry helped states such as Iowa.