Credit: Jonathan Bachman | Reuters
Far be it from us to throw shade on your home sweet home, but the data does not lie. The Quality of Life category in our annual America’s Top States for Business study ranks all 50 states on overall livability based on metrics, including crime rate, attractions, air quality, health and health care and legal protections against discrimination. Quality of Life is worth a possible 300 out of 2,500 total points in the study, based on the Top States methodology and sources. Journey with us now through this year’s Top States hall of shame — the 10 bottom states for quality of life.
10. KENTUCKY
The Bluegrass State is in the heart of tobacco country, and residents here would do well to lay off the local product a bit. More than a quarter of adults are regular smokers in Kentucky, the highest rate in the country. The state also has the nation’s highest rate of cancer deaths and one of the highest rates of cardiovascular deaths. […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
Stephan–you’ve reached a new low in cherry picking. On the very same website where we find that Republican states rank abysmally in the bottom ten (almost all of them Southern States, I might add), thus confirming in your pet theory that Republicanism is toxic, is a list of the ten best states to live. You guessed it, half of them are Republican states! Oh, and there’s a list of the ten best states for business. Half of them are Republican states as well. And even more amusing, there a list of five top “green” power states and (oh my!) they are Republican states, too! Maybe that thesis about Republican governance merits another, less biased look?
If you don’t believe me, here are the URLs
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/26/5-red-states-leading-america-in-going-green-energy.html
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/11/americas-top-states-for-business-2017-overall-ranking.html
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/11/americas-top-states-to-live-in-2017.html
Cherry picking. This data was assembled by CNBC, a conservative business network. And if you don’t like that go to Academia.edu and search on my name and you will find half a dozen papers making the same point with data from every respected data gathering institution in the country, CDC Census Bureau, Pew, Gallup… or do you dismiss those sources as well. Even worse like all people of your views, you make a blanket assertion yet you offer no counter data from equally respected sources.
Of course Republican states head the list for business, but that is not the measure of quality of life in those states.
The fact is on any social outcome benchmark you like, maternal morality, infant mortality, obesity, education, sexually transmitted diseases, heart disease, life span, incarceration, the things that actually impact the lives of people living in a particular state Republicans cannot govern, if by govern one means social policies that foster wellbeing for the population voting. That is not a political statement it is a factual statement.
Paul, Stephan is right. The study is about Quality of Life, not business.