Federation of the Great Lakes

Marshall, this is first-class, thoughtful, thorough, and of obvious practical value.  Your humble servant here more and more embraces the concept of "economic domains" instead of political boundaries.  For instance, Dubuque, Iowa, on the Mississippi River forms a natural tri-state economic domain with SW Wisconsin and NW Illinois.  Folks there are starting to realize this and act on it.  Great!  What happens in Madison, WI, Springfield, IL, and Des Moines, IA - except for taxing and regulations - has little if anything to do with the economic health of this tri-state interface.  Yes, economic domains, not political boundaries are the future engines.  The consul general of Canada from Chicago told an audience last year, where this writer was in attendance, that the Great Lakes states, Ontario and Quebec could easily form an economic domain without the baggage of the rest of the political structures to east, west, and south.  He said such an economic domain would create the 7th largest economy in the world - and 14th largest population concentration!  We are, yes, edging toward understanding and applying the insights of "economic domains" in the future.