APP - Red v. Blue Mashup

Fish

Fish

New member
Based on some of the information I have in the "America is fat" thread, I mashed up some other statistics coded red/blue according to where the electoral votes went in the 2008 Presidential election. Listed below are the bottom ten (or top ten) of all data sets. Most of this is census data. If you'd like the individual statistics set, let me know and I'll send it to you.

Obesity %

Mississippi 32.8
Alabama 31.4
West Virginia 31.2
Tennessee 30.6
Oklahoma 30.3
South Carolina 30.1
Kentucky 29.8
North Carolina 29.0
Michigan 28.9
Arkansas 28.7

Median Household Income

South Carolina – $43,329
Tennessee – $42,367
Oklahoma – $41,567
New Mexico – $41,452
Louisiana – $40,926
Alabama – $40,554
Kentucky – $40,267
Arkansas – $38,134
West Virginia – $37,060
Mississippi – $36,338

Infant Mortality Rates Per 1000 Births

District of Columbia 14.1
Mississippi 11.4
Louisiana 10.1
South Carolina 9.4
Alabama 9.4
Delaware 9.0
Tennessee 8.9
North Carolina 8.8
Ohio 8.3
West Virginia 8.1 / Oklahoma 8.1

Uninsured (2006)

Texas 24.5
New Mexico 22.9
Louisiana 21.9
Florida 21.2
Arizona 20.9
Mississippi 20.8
Nevada 19.6
Arkansas 18.9
Oklahoma 18.9
California 18.8

High School Graduation Percentage (2000)

Mississippi 64.3
Kentucky 64.6
West Virginia 66.0
Arkansas 66.3
Alabama 66.9
Tennessee 67.1
Louisiana / South Carolina 68.3
North Carolina 70.0
Georgia 70.9
Rhode Island 72.0

% Living Below Poverty Line (2007)


Mississippi 20.6
Louisiana 18.6
New Mexico 18.1
Arkansas 17.9
Kentucky 17.3
West Virginia / Alabama 16.9
Washington DC 16.4
Texas 16.3
Oklahoma / Tennessee 15.9
South Carolina 15.0

Life Expectancy

Kentucky 75.2
Arkansas 75.2
Oklahoma 75.2
Tennessee 75.1
West Virginia 75.1
South Carolina 74.8
Alabama 74.4
Louisiana 74.2
Mississippi 73.6
District of Columbia 72.0

Literacy Rate % (2005)

South Carolina 81.7
Tennessee 81.2
West Virginia 81.2
Arkansas 81.0
Louisiana 80.5
Alabama 80.3
California 80.1
Kentucky 79.0
Texas 78.8
Mississippi 78.5

To me, it seems pretty obvious that "red states" are often places that vote against their own best interests, especially in poor areas like the south. Mississippi appears on every single list here, Tennessee/Arkansas/Louisiana are staples at the bottom of this statistical barrel as well.

What conclusions do you draw from this set of data?

EDIT: If there's anything you'd like to see mashed up like this and the data set is available from a reputable source I'll add it to this post.
 
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Fish said:
Based on some of the information I have in the "America is fat" thread, I mashed up some other statistics coded red/blue according to where the electoral votes went in the 2008 Presidential election. Listed below are the bottom ten (or top ten) of all data sets. Most of this is census data. If you'd like the individual statistics set, let me know and I'll send it to you.

Obesity %

Mississippi 32.8
Alabama 31.4
West Virginia 31.2
Tennessee 30.6
Oklahoma 30.3
South Carolina 30.1
Kentucky 29.8
North Carolina 29.0
Michigan 28.9
Arkansas 28.7

Median Household Income

South Carolina – $43,329
Tennessee – $42,367
Oklahoma – $41,567
New Mexico – $41,452
Louisiana – $40,926
Alabama – $40,554
Kentucky – $40,267
Arkansas – $38,134
West Virginia – $37,060
Mississippi – $36,338

Infant Mortality Rates Per 1000 Births

District of Columbia 14.1
Mississippi 11.4
Louisiana 10.1
South Carolina 9.4
Alabama 9.4
Delaware 9.0
Tennessee 8.9
North Carolina 8.8
Ohio 8.3
West Virginia 8.1 / Oklahoma 8.1

Uninsured (2006)

Texas 24.5
New Mexico 22.9
Louisiana 21.9
Florida 21.2
Arizona 20.9
Mississippi 20.8
Nevada 19.6
Arkansas 18.9
Oklahoma 18.9
California 18.8

High School Graduation Percentage (2000)

Mississippi 64.3
Kentucky 64.6
West Virginia 66.0
Arkansas 66.3
Alabama 66.9
Tennessee 67.1
Louisiana / South Carolina 68.3
North Carolina 70.0
Georgia 70.9
Rhode Island 72.0

% Living Below Poverty Line (2007)


Mississippi 20.6
Louisiana 18.6
New Mexico 18.1
Arkansas 17.9
Kentucky 17.3
West Virginia / Alabama 16.9
Washington DC 16.4
Texas 16.3
Oklahoma / Tennessee 15.9
South Carolina 15.0

Life Expectancy

Kentucky 75.2
Arkansas 75.2
Oklahoma 75.2
Tennessee 75.1
West Virginia 75.1
South Carolina 74.8
Alabama 74.4
Louisiana 74.2
Mississippi 73.6
District of Columbia 72.0

Literacy Rate % (2005)

South Carolina 81.7
Tennessee 81.2
West Virginia 81.2
Arkansas 81.0
Louisiana 80.5
Alabama 80.3
California 80.1
Kentucky 79.0
Texas 78.8
Mississippi 78.5

To me, it seems pretty obvious that "red states" are often places that vote against their own best interests, especially in poor areas like the south. Mississippi appears on every single list here, Tennessee/Arkansas/Louisiana are staples at the bottom of this statistical barrel as well.

What conclusions do you draw from this set of data?

EDIT: If there's anything you'd like to see mashed up like this and the data set is available from a reputable source I'll add it to this post.
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Seems obvious, liberals are just better at everything, right!
 
My post is pretty red and those aren't great categories to be leading the way in.

Any opinions on why conservative leaning states have a greater problem with poverty?
 
Fish said:
My post is pretty red and those aren't great categories to be leading the way in.

Any opinions on why conservative leaning states have a greater problem with poverty?
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most of the states on your list, whether red or blue are states that have fewer industries and more agriculture....I would say the contributing factor is job opportunities, not political stance....let's face it those states that did go blue were states with metropolitan areas that had populations outbalancing the rest of the state.....urban areas vote Democratic.....
 
PostmodernProphet said:
most of the states on your list, whether red or blue are states that have fewer industries and more agriculture....I would say the contributing factor is job opportunities, not political stance....let's face it those states that did go blue were states with metropolitan areas that had populations outbalancing the rest of the state.....urban areas vote Democratic.....
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Fair enough, but what about things like life expectancy and literacy? Do you think lack of industry effects these?
 
Fish said:
Fair enough, but what about things like life expectancy and literacy? Do you think lack of industry effects these?
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lack of industry, lack of jobs, lack of income, lack of taxes, lack of money to have good schools, hospitals, etc......it's all part of the same train.....

I grew up in Iowa...small town, no jobs unless you were going to farm.....28 kids in my graduating class (school now closed, consolidated with other schools)....only three of the 28 still live there.....(and one of them still lives in his parents basement, stoned half the time).......
 
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Fish said:
What's are your suggestions to help the disadvantaged in these places?
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obviously the goal is to create jobs....though most factories aren't going to set up in communities don't have enough manpower to let them choose the best employees.....if you need a thousand workers you aren't going to build a factory somewhere where you need to hire 75% of the people in town....that's why a gradual transition to urban areas was and is inevitable....
 
PostmodernProphet said:
obviously the goal is to create jobs....though most factories aren't going to set up in communities don't have enough manpower to let them choose the best employees.....if you need a thousand workers you aren't going to build a factory somewhere where you need to hire 75% of the people in town....that's why a gradual transition to urban areas was and is inevitable....
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Interesting.

So you see a continuing shift of more and more population to urban centers?
 
PostmodernProphet said:
most of the states on your list, whether red or blue are states that have fewer industries and more agriculture....I would say the contributing factor is job opportunities, not political stance....let's face it those states that did go blue were states with metropolitan areas that had populations outbalancing the rest of the state.....urban areas vote Democratic.....
Click to expand...

And I thought Conservatives attracted Business?
 
Fish said:
Sure, sure. It just seems that you're saying that there's more opportunity to improve one's quality of life in the city (Liberals) than there is in the country (Conservatives).
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That depends where you are. City's like Detroit are dying. Very little economic activity.

I'm not sure what the liberal vs. conservative thing has to do with opportunity (though I'm sure a partisan will inform me) but look back at the '50's and '60's with white flight to the suburbs. That's where most of the money was. Now you have rich people moving back in to the (some) cities and poor and middle class people being forced out. Is that because of opportunity of based on where people want to live?
 
Fish said:
Sure, sure. It just seems that you're saying that there's more opportunity to improve one's quality of life in the city (Liberals) than there is in the country (Conservatives).
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there are other factors involved in "quality of life"....there's crime, pollution, overcrowding, more expensive....

look we were talking about conditions of many of the states on your list....West Virginia, Alabama, Mississippi....there are still places you can go and work and enjoy life and not have to be surrounded by liberals.....
 
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