Are blue states better for children?

[mwb970]

(editorial, Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune)

The Every Child Matters Education Fund, a Washington-based child advocacy group, recently released a report tying politics to the health and well-being of children. In states where voters lean toward electing Republicans, children are "at significantly more risk" than in Democratic-leaning states, the report said.

Using federal health statistics, the organization's director, Michael Petit, ranked all 50 states using indicators such as infant mortality, health insurance, poverty and child abuse. Compared to their peers in the top 10, mostly blue states, a child in a state in the bottom 10 is more than twice as likely to be living in poverty and without health insurance and seven times more likely to die from abuse and neglect.

Mothers in those bottom states are twice as likely to receive inadequate prenatal care, placing children at higher risk.

A major report finding is that blue states tend to tax at higher rates, then spend more on children's programs. As a result, those states have generally better outcomes for kids, including lower incarceration rates, lower births to teen mothers and fewer infants born underweight.


More at:
http://www.startribune.com/561/story/977846.html

[Crazy Dave]

1. Red states are where people invest for their own self benefits

I live in red state, in a very red town where asking a rw-christian for a donation to the less fortunate will get you a, "God only helps those who help themselves".
Blue states by statistics show that their citizens, including moderate christians tend to invest more time and money in others less fortunate and in my opinion get a much better return for their money and efforts.

[Captain Hilts]

2. Blue states, such as NYS, believe in government services. Red states don't. nt

[bumblebee1]

3. Red staters may not believe in government services.

That is until they need them. Then they'll be begging for them.

[SharonAnn]

4. Oh they do beg for them. In fact, they demand them! Because they're "different" from those no-good

blue-staters.

Yep, that's what we see here.

On Career Day at a local high school when asked what he wanted to do after high school, one of the students said he wanted to "draw". Turns out he didn't want to be an artist, he wanted to "draw" a check from the government. His dad draws three, and the young man's goal was to draw at least one.

Oh, and they're hard-core, right-wing Republicans. I don't know if they vote or not. I hope not.

Sigh. Where to begin?