The 5 poorest states are all in the south

[liberal N proud]

While the richest are in the north and Hawaii

Census report released earlier this month put median household income, adjusted for inflation, at $51,017 in 2012, and said that most people have had no gains since the economy hit bottom in 2009.

Sheldon Danziger, the president of the Russell Sage Foundation, views the stagnation as a metaphor for the economic recovery. Most of the gains are going to the wealthiest Americans, he said. "I don't see any bright prospects for the median worker, much less the poor."

Not surprisingly, the types of jobs available in each state affect incomes. Residents of states with the highest median incomes were more likely to be employed in information, finance and other professional sectors, the Census Bureau data show.

Each of the 10 states with the lowest incomes in 2012 also had poverty rates that exceeded the national average. Nationally, the poverty rate held steady at just below 16% in 2012. Government programs remain a lifeline for millions.

Residents of low-income states had relatively high rates of employment in the retail, manufacturing and transportation sectors. The high proportion of manufacturing jobs might be surprising, but it reflects the changing nature of the nation's manufacturing industry.

"There's a difference between unionized auto company workers and non-unionized parts suppliers," Danziger said. "Even when manufacturers haven't cut wages, they are adopting labor-saving technological change."

Poorest states:
___5. Kentucky
___4. Alabama
___3. West Virgina
___2. Arkansas
___1. Mississippi


http://money.msn.com/investing/americas-richest-and-poorest-states?gt1=33002

[MADem]

1. Red states. "Taker" states, too, when it comes to contributing to the Federal government.

[DrDan]

7. Arkansas is a maker state, not a taker

[MADem]

9. A rose amongst thorns? This graphic, though, says otherwise...

Not a huge taker, but a taker, nonetheless.

[DrDan]

10. and here is the graphic I sourced

a twenty-year view 1990-2009 - could be a different time period between the two views

http://neweconomicperspectives.org/2012/11/how-the-takers-voted.html

[MADem]

12. The one I offered was from TPM and was based on 2010 data.

And riffing off a Feb 2012 NYT article:

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/the-map-that-proves-red-staters-use-the-safety-net-too

Just over a week ago, the New York Times ran an eye-opening story about a key paradox in U.S. politics: It turns out the biggest critics of federal spending -- Republican base voters -- are some of the biggest beneficiaries of the social safety net.

Expand on that irony, and you'll find that some of the most conservative states in the country are the greatest beneficiaries of transfer payments -- where residents pay on average less in taxes than they receive in federal benefits. Not all "taker" states are red, and not all "giver" states are blue.
But the color spread on the map below suggests that many Republican base voters either choose to vote against their economic self-interest, or would be stunned if the members of Congress who represent them ever got their way.

Another point of national cognitive dissonance: for all the hype and anger about soaring deficits, all the green and dark green on the map illustrate how severe the implications of balancing the budget too rapidly would be.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

2. I didn't read the link (have to get ready for work), but ...

... they also take in the most in Federal funds. Not sure if that was stated in the article.

[liberal N proud]

3. I don't believe it does in this article.

[Laelth]

4. k&r for exposure. n/t

-Laelth

[LuvNewcastle]

5. This is kind of weird, I guess, but one thing good about being

poor in the South is that there's plenty of other people in the same boat. I think I'd be a lot more self-conscious about it if I lived in a wealthy state. At least I don't feel like I'm being left out of anything. It's harder to stomach that tuna sandwich when everyone around you is eating steak.

[rrneck]

24. I wonder if that feeling corrolates with incidences of social strife about income inequality? nt

[trusty elf]

6. a short clip:

[Historic NY]

8. And they keep on voting Republican....

because they are looking out for their interests.

[durablend]

11. Clearly

"Can't have those moochers buying indoor plumbing with those food stamps!"

[Art_from_Ark]

13. The poorest counties in Arkansas usually vote Democratic

The richest counties (with the exception of Pulaski) usually vote Republican.

And Benton County was solidly Democratic until rich retirees from the North started coming down in droves in the '60s.

[JoeyT]

35. Same for Alabama.

I love when people pretend like they know what they're talking about.

I dunno about Arkansas, but Alabama also has the problem that the vote counters are vested in a Republican win and there's pretty much zero accountability.

[AllyCat]

14. I just went through WV last weekend. Devastating poverty.

And we were in AR this past summer...also, boarded up shops, no one working, streets and homes in disrepair CITYWIDE...not just one section of town.

And these folks keep on voting Republican.

[Art_from_Ark]

16. Where in Arkansas were you?

It certainly wasn't Northwest Arkansas.

[magical thyme]

17. ooops.... I need to learn to slow down

[AllyCat]

18. Northeast near Pocahantas.

Most of the people I talked to were worried about someone taking their guns. Maybe it was just the crowd.

[Art_from_Ark]

19. That's always been a kind of depressed place

Northeastern Arkansas has rarely seen good times. There are a few exceptions, like Jonesboro, which has a university to help spur its economy, but the main economy of the rest of the region is pretty much farming.

[AllyCat]

20. We were stunned. We'd never been to that part of the country before

and the level of poverty was heartbreaking.

[Art_from_Ark]

22. If you think that's bad,

you should visit Lee County on the Mississippi River, which I believe is the poorest in the state.

On the other hand, there is Northwest Arkansas, which is home to Wal-Mart, Tyson's, Arvest, and the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas, not to mention thousands of wealthy retirees and various industries. There are also all sorts of new developments going up, like this one http://www.pinnaclecc.com/ The area consistently votes Republican, and has had a Republican Congressman since 1967.

This is just a theory of mine, but I get the feeling that a lot of people in the rest of the state, who have long voted Democratic, may have started to look at the Northwest and wonder if they could get their local economies stimulated by voting Republican. This might help explain (but not completely explain) why all of the state's US representatives are now Republicans, the first time that's happened since Reconstruction.

On edit: Another thing to take into consideration about the state's recent voting patterns is the leadership crisis that has been affecting the Arkansas Democratic Party since the former party chairman, Bill Gwatney, was murdered in a bizarre incident in his office back in 2008.

[BlueToTheBone]

25. Actually, first we were Roved and then we were

Koched. They know a state with incredible riches when they see one.

I think another area that is stunningly poor is Hot Springs area. For what it is, the town is boarded up and depressed as hell. I thought it would have been thriving, but no. Going further south, it is so lovely but soooo poor. They are repukes because of all the little white churches with the hate speech preachers.

[questionseverything]

31. actually who knows how they vote

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7875

Results Drastically Changed

The election numbers have radically changed in Monroe County since the May 18th election. At least as reported on the SoS website, and as confirmed by local officials.

It's not all that unusual for the unofficial numbers to move a bit following election day, as absentee and provisional ballots are counted and added in to the totals, and as precinct numbers are double-checked for accuracy in the post-election canvass. It is, however, unusual, for vote totals to get a great deal smaller rather than larger in the days following the election. And that's what seems to have happened in Monroe County --- radically so.

Somehow, more than a thousand votes disappeared entirely, as the election results in the Dem and GOP Senate primaries have almost entirely changed.

[BlueToTheBone]

34. I couldn't open the link

but I'm totally open to that as fact. I watched them rig the county that would have given Bill Halter the democratic primary.

This is really a corrupt little state with "families" controlling their little territories; except that the state is getting new people who don't know and won't follow the "rules."

[questionseverything]

47. try refreshing the link

this was monroe county,article published by bradblog on june 4th,2010

results on may 19th(according to state reporting site)

morrison 135,lincoln 258,halter 207

by may 25th(according to same state reporting site)

morrison 307,lincoln 1025,halter 733

also thousands of republican voters disappear

all with no explaination

i would love to hear the story of the county you watched

[BlueToTheBone]

50. In that county

the number of polling places were reduced to 2 in a very rural county. I think there were 8 in the primary. I'm still new to the state and don't know all the counties.

[Art_from_Ark]

40. It might even go back to being "Starred"

Back in 1996, Ken Starr's witch hunters ousted then-governor Jim Guy Tucker so that the Republican lieutenant governor, Mike Huckabee, could become governor. (There's no way they would have hounded Tucker if the lieutenant governor had been a Democrat).

[Frankie the Bird]

30. Voter education is the key. SHOW THEM WHY THEY ARE CLOSED!!

And get them to stop voting Republican because they vote against their interests.

God, guns and gays are no longer the priority.

[JoeyT]

36. Voter education doesn't help when

your votes aren't actually being counted. Corruption is rife at the state and county levels, and there's not much we can do about it. What are we going to do, vote them out?

[former9thward]

38. WV has two Democratic Senators.

And a Democratic Governor. They vote Republican at the Presidential level because of coal.

[AllyCat]

42. Thank you for the information. Guess I have to count myself ignorant on that one

I thought they were now two Repub Senators. My bad! I met lots of people on the train going through WV who lived in the area. They confirmed how depressed it is and that nothing ever seems to change. Aside from coal, they said a major industry is tourism. I can believe it...the countryside and the river (Kanahwa) were breathtaking. Saw some nice trailheads too.

[Bluenorthwest]

43. Of the last 10 Presidential elections, WV has voted Democratic in 5 of them

California has voted Democratic is 6 of them. Compare and contrast.

[former9thward]

46. In politics the trend is all important.

CA and WV are trending in opposite directions.

[Puzzledtraveller]

15. Kentucky overwhelmingly picks deomocrats for Governor

we expanded medicaid and took the grants for the exchanges.

[Daniel537]

27. And yet solid R at the Federal level.

What's the deal?

[trof]

21. In Alabama we say "Thank god for Mississippi."

They usually keep us off the very bottom of such lists.

[LuvNewcastle]

23. That's why we have casinos in Mississippi, so all of you

rich people in Alabama will come over and give us your money.

[trof]

32. Ain't it the truth. We buy our lottery tickets in Florida.

We'd rather help educate Florida kids than our own.

[Turbineguy]

26. The strategery of electing republicans

seems to be working.

Hey! Here's an idea! Why don't the rest of us elect republicans too? That way we can be poorer too!

[Romulox]

28. The poorest big city is Detroit. nt

[NCTraveler]

29. Govenors for 3 out of the 5 are members of the Democratic Party. nt.

[Dreamer Tatum]

33. So in one thread people decry the 1% making everyone poorer

and in another we mock poor places.

What a bunch of bullshit.

[liberal N proud]

37. I was simply posting some information

I didn't make the red states poor, and I most certainly didn't mock anything.

[cordelia]

39. This. And thank you.

[Bluenorthwest]

44. Where did the OP mock anyone? Are the facts incorrect?

nt

[Eleanors38]

41. So noted. It get's old.

[Bluenorthwest]

45. How does the OP mock anyone. If it gets old please explain what it is that you find so

bothersome.

[Eleanors38]

51. I responded to a post who referenced the thread contents,

not the OP.

[LanternWaste]

49. Mathematics and statistics are indeed, mocking...

Mathematics and statistics are indeed, mocking...


But I can understand how one may confuse the two, an apple and an orange are quite similar one to the other... because they're both round?

[KamaAina]

48. WV is only marginally in the South

in fact, it split from Virginia because it did not wish to secede from the Union.