It is a time of fear in the face of freedom, a time for the widening of previous roads and the opening of new paths, a time of an emptying country and swelling cities, yet a time when these paths are mined by knowing algorithms of the all-seeing eye. It is the time of the warrior's peace and the miser's charity, when the planting of a seed is an act of conscientious objection.
 | Progressive States Offer Better Life Than Right Wing States |
Two years after the 2004 election, how are the pro-Kerry and pro-Bush states faring? On a variety of measures, it seems that the relatively progressive states that voted in favor of John Kerry for President are doing relatively well. The right wing states that voted to re-elect George W. Bush, on the other hand, just can’t seem to get their act together.
A couple days ago, I examined the statistics on education compiled by Morgan Quitno Press, and found that progressive blue states that voted for Kerry have healthier education systems than right wing red states that favored George W. Bush, on average. Perhaps that’s not a surprise. After all, right wingers are known for their distrust of education, and George W. Bush is an exemplar of how a person with the right connections can go far in life without a good education.
Other factors should be more bipartisan in their appeal. The good life, for example, is something that both progressives and right wingers would like to have. So, this morning, I took another look at the statistics compiled by the people at Morgan Quitno, to see whether progressive states or right wing states are doing a better job at creating livable communities. It just so happens that Morgan Quitno puts together an index of statistics that assesses livability: The 2006 Livable State Award.
The livability index is compiled from many statistics, ranging from suicide rate to median household income. Job growth, crime rate, teenage birth rate, and even the average number of sunny days in a year were taken into account.
Progressive New Hampshire was found to be the most livable state this year, followed by Minnesota, also progressive. The least livable state in the USA was found to be Louisiana, followed by Mississippi, both right wing states.
These states are the outliers of dramatic success and dramatic failure, but what about the rest? The distinction between progressive states and right wing states in 2006 is dramatic. Progressive states in which a majority voted for John Kerry had an average ranking of 19. Right wing states in which a majority voted for George W. Bush, on the other hand, had a much lower ranking in general, with an average of 29.
If you want a good life, your chances are much better if you decide to live in a state where progressive politics dominates. If you choose to live in a right wing state, the chances are that you’ll be more unhappy than the average American. Looking at these statistics, the choice is easy to make. I hope, for the sake of America’s happiness, that voters choose to establish a more progressive Congress in 2006, and to elect a progressive President in 2008.
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“George W. Bush is an exemplar of how a person with the right connections can go far in life without a good education.”
Doesn’t he have more degrees than Kerry, and a higher grade average?
And just how many states would that be again? The progressive ones?
Comment by Norma — 11/1/2006 @ 7:55 pm
I thought Dubya’s grade average at Yale was a ‘C’–that would be a “gentleman’s F.”
Comment by Iroquois Honky — 11/1/2006 @ 9:58 pm