Some things just defy belief.

Allen Johnson from our esteemed Greensboro News and Record has a blog post commenting on the fact that Samsung has chosen Newberry, SC to be the site of its new plant to manufacture appliances. The Palmetto State nabs 2,000 more jobs. Meanwhile, the Tarheel State gets an employer notorious for taking jobs away from American citizens and giving them to foreigners.

Allen has been around the blogosphere for nearly 15 years. He has been repeatedly exposed to the concepts that explain why employers choose to stay away from Greensboro. This is nothing new.

Yes, North Carolina scores high on national assessments of various types that rank states from the standpoint of attracting employers and corporate investment. But Greensboro has combined local/state taxes that simply are not competitive.

One interesting analysis from Forbes compares the tax environment in the two states.

North Carolina is ranked #34 among the 50 states.

South Carolina is ranked #9.

The combined state and local tax rate in North Carolina is 9.8 percent. In South Carolina, it is 8.3 percent.

State taxes are slightly higher in North Carolina. But the major difference is that local taxes in North Carolina tend to be much higher than in the Palmetto State.

Having lived in South Carolina for five years, it is quite evident to me that local government in North Carolina spends a lot more money overall, and tends to tax more. The degree of regulation also seems to be much higher in North Carolina. Perhaps it is all those public administration majors being pumped out of our fine universities who creatively devise ways to spend more money and tie up the private sector in knots.

Or perhaps it is the citizens who demand it through their elected officials. Or perhaps, as in Greensboro, it is the oligarchs who demand high levels of spending and regulation.

The democratic socialists in North Carolina overall held much more power over a longer period of time than they did in South Carolina. That resulted in a certain type of governing culture being institutionalized in the Tarheel State. The Republicans became ascendant in South Carolina much earlier than in North Carolina.

And unfortunately, when Republicans assume power in North Carolina, they tend not to cut a lot of spending. They leave lots of fat on the bone.

For limited government conservatives, it is quite clear why South Carolina often prevails with jobs recruitment. But the media/left complex in North Carolina simply can't figure it out.