A couple of decades can make a huge difference in the political and economic life of a jurisdiction.

Two decades ago, Venezuela had not yet been subjected to the horror of Hugo Chavez and his destructive statism.

Three decades ago, the pro-market success story of Estonia was an enslaved part of the totalitarian Soviet Union.

Four decades ago, the Latin superstar of Chile was still in a hangover stage from a disastrous communist government.

Five decades ago, Ronald Reagan was a conservative governor of the now-notoriously left-wing state of California.

And here's something especially amazing from a bit more than five decades in the past. New Jersey used to have no state income tax and no state sales tax.