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Some states also have a higher proportion of achievers, while other states have a higher proportion of EIC trash.

If I may read between the lines and respond...

Hawaii is a Socialists' Paradise. There's not a heck of a lot of difference between the leftist ideology of both Republicans and Democrats, which only contributes to the downward spiral.

However, if you're attempting to compare individual "achievement" with individual income level, that's true only up to a point. Folks here in most fields of work are paid less than their counterparts on the mainland due to a sloggy local economy and the fact that there is high supply of workers & a low demand for their services. I think workers here aren't "worth as much" mainly because employers can't afford to pay them more, not because they are any more "under-achieving" than people in other states.

A reasonable measure of achievement would be someone's earnings, would it not? Doesn't your welfare statist's paradise offer a lot of incentive to stay within the "sweet spot" of the Earned Income Credit tables? ($10,000-$14,000 w/ 2 kids gets you $4,008.00)