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Is Life Better in America’s Red States?
New York Times ^ | 01/04/2015 | By RICHARD FLORIDA

Posted on 01/04/2015 12:01:43 PM PST by SeekAndFind

The new Congress that starts work this week is the latest reminder of America’s stark political divisions: The parties in Washington are more polarized than they have been in decades, the partisanship gap between rural Republicans and urban Democrats has grown, and the battle for suburban voters keeps intensifying. Much less is said, however, about the equally significant economic division between conservative “red states” and liberal “blue states.”

Blue states, like California, New York and Illinois, whose economies turn on finance, trade and knowledge, are generally richer than red states. But red states, like Texas, Georgia and Utah, have done a better job over all of offering a higher standard of living relative to housing costs. That basic economic fact not only helps explain why the nation’s electoral map got so much redder in the November midterm elections, but also why America’s prosperity is in jeopardy.

Red state economies based on energy extraction, agriculture and suburban sprawl may have lower wages, higher poverty rates and lower levels of education on average than those of blue states — but their residents also benefit from much lower costs of living. For a middle-class person , the American dream of a big house with a backyard and a couple of cars is much more achievable in low-tax Arizona than in deep-blue Massachusetts. As Jed Kolko, chief economist of Trulia, recently noted, housing costs almost twice as much in deep-blue markets ($227 per square foot) than in red markets ($119).

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: life; redstates; richardflorida
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To: SeekAndFind

YES


21 posted on 01/04/2015 12:49:51 PM PST by Bitsy
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To: EBH
NYT bases its calculations mostly on number of dollars people receive. A Conservative stater with two paid for cars and a paid off mortgage is poorer than a left state resident with two mortgages on a $350k house and one prius with no place to park it and, of curse, much higher taxes.

I meant to write "of course" but decided it worked better the way it got typoed.

22 posted on 01/04/2015 1:00:12 PM PST by arthurus
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To: jsanders2001

The refugees from California in Colorado: “Dear, this place is almost perfect, less crime, lower taxes, fewer fees than back in Cali- now, it just vote needs some more services!”


23 posted on 01/04/2015 1:02:30 PM PST by arthurus
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To: SkyDancer
That one is debatable.

Many 'blue' states are very 'white' and already have a low crime rate. Also, many of the those states have high density populations, where gun violence is actually rare.

While some of the least popular states are 'red', their gun violence and murder is higher due to the high gun ownership versus population and general higher crime rates.

24 posted on 01/04/2015 1:04:35 PM PST by Theoria (I should never have surrendered. I should have fought until I was the last man alive)
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To: BobL
as people that decide NOT to own guns are also welcome in Texas.

until they start trying to import their own "values" for the benefit of the benighted natives.

25 posted on 01/04/2015 1:04:43 PM PST by arthurus
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To: Kozak

HEAR! HEAR!


26 posted on 01/04/2015 1:07:49 PM PST by arthurus
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To: arthurus

“until they start trying to import their own “values” for the benefit of the benighted natives. “

Fair point...I have to work with some of those losers.


27 posted on 01/04/2015 1:08:31 PM PST by BobL (REPUBLICANS - Fight for the WHITE VOTE...and you will win.)
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To: arthurus

But the frustrating part is that the states the libs leave behind (CA, NY, etc) are getting MORE liberal.


28 posted on 01/04/2015 1:10:24 PM PST by nascarnation (....)
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To: SeekAndFind

What a condescending, elitist ass**le. The disdain and loathing for anything conservative is as expected from a NY Slimes writer. I also detest the terms “inequality states” and “knowledge states”.


29 posted on 01/04/2015 1:16:41 PM PST by peggybac (My boss I respect, my father I revered. Chris Rock, Mr. Obama is NOT my boss or my father.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Yes. Next question!


30 posted on 01/04/2015 1:17:23 PM PST by Doug Loss
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To: EBH

Exactly, if we lived in CA, we might be able to afford a cardboard box in a vacant lot.

Chicago has over 500 murders a year. Think I’ll pass on living in that utopia.


31 posted on 01/04/2015 1:24:27 PM PST by Pining_4_TX (All those who were appointed to eternal life believed. Acts 13:48)
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To: Cringing Negativism Network

Warm beach with girls in bikinis makes both California and Florida VERY attractive to many people.


32 posted on 01/04/2015 1:31:29 PM PST by TexasFreeper2009 (Obama lied .. the economy died.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Yes


33 posted on 01/04/2015 1:32:42 PM PST by slouper (LWRC SPR 223)
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To: Cringing Negativism Network
Cali does not seem to me anyway, to be growing and succeeding at the moment.

Growing, succeeding?

Pouring in more biz and people does is not the recipe for success.

The last thing CA needs are more people, more strip malls, restaurants, more roads, more traffic etc....We need less people, less government, less people being forced to pay for that government which brought us this disaster and less of most everything else. But you can send some water.

More people brings more government, more taxes, more regulation, more control, and on and on. Look at all your big cities of ya don't believe me.

34 posted on 01/04/2015 1:39:49 PM PST by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
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To: Kozak

On top of that, Arizona is too hot for any human being to survive. I advise everyone to avoid it.


35 posted on 01/04/2015 1:49:45 PM PST by Jeff Chandler (Doctrine doesn't change. The trick is to find a way around it.)
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To: Theoria
their gun violence and murder is higher due to the high gun ownership versus population and general higher crime rates.

Murder rates are not high due to gun ownership, but rather to demographics and the cultures therein.

The murder rate among Norwegian-Americans is comparable to that of the country of Norway. Think about that.

36 posted on 01/04/2015 1:53:01 PM PST by Jeff Chandler (Doctrine doesn't change. The trick is to find a way around it.)
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To: Jeff Chandler
'Murder rates are not high due to gun ownership, but rather to demographics and the cultures therein.'

Yes, I'm not ignoring that. That was part of my point. But, I also include suicide as 'murder' in these numbers. Guns are great tool, and many people use them for suicide. Culturally, that is also why the states[bottom 10] have the least gun ownership also have the lowest suicide rates in the US.

37 posted on 01/04/2015 2:18:21 PM PST by Theoria (I should never have surrendered. I should have fought until I was the last man alive)
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To: Theoria

Utterly insane. Guns don’t cause suicide.


38 posted on 01/04/2015 2:27:08 PM PST by Hugh the Scot ( Total War)
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To: SeekAndFind

The NYSlimes is obviously encouraging people to leave Blue states to contaminate Red states with their Liberalism. Beware of those who move to your sane state with their crazy Leftist religion.


39 posted on 01/04/2015 2:28:41 PM PST by txrefugee
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To: Jeff Chandler

Ha!


40 posted on 01/04/2015 2:36:06 PM PST by eyedigress
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