Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Why We Call Them the "Red States"

We even see it here, in our comments, talk about the Democrats being socialists and all. It's a good throwaway sound bite for illiterate Fox audiences, you can figure that liberal equals socialist, socialist equals bad, and there ya go, all you have to do is say the word "socialist" and roll your eyes and everybody will know what you mean. It is much easier than thinking.

In that regard, this was an interesting little piece from the CNBC Mainstreet blog...
When the Democratic Party took over the presidency and both houses of Congress in 2008, conservatives were quick to warn their supporters of a coming era of socialism led by President Barack Obama.

Indeed, that message was a constant in the debate over the health care reform bill as well as the Congressional midterm elections, when Tea Party conservatives made taxation a rallying cry for frustrated Americans.

As the narrative of the country’s purported move toward socialism persists, MainStreet decided to evaluate which states were the most and least socialist, to get a picture of how diverse the country is in how states manage their finances.

What is 'Socialist,' Anyway?

To evaluate the degree to which different states manifest socialist principles, we started from the core definition of socialism as a form of government in which the state owns the means of production and allocates resources to its citizens at its discretion.

In other words, a purely socialist state is one in which the state is responsible for 100% of economic output and spends all of it on social programs.

Since no part of the U.S. can be considered purely socialist, we measured total expenditures as a proportion of total economic output to compare the size of the public sector in each state. Using recently released 2009 state gross domestic product figures from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and total state expenditures for fiscal year 2009 from the most recent report of the National Association of State Budget Officers, we have come up with the 10 most socialist states in America... The Most Socialist States in America

I won't keep you waiting. Here are the top ten, from least to most socialist, with the percentage of the state's economic output allocated to social programs:
10. Rhode Island 15.0%
9. Hawaii 17.8%
8. Arkansas 18.1%
7. Wyoming 19.0%
6. Mississippi 20.2%
5. New Mexico 20.7%
4. Vermont 21.0%
3. Alabama 27.4%
2. Alaska 31.1%
1. West Virginia 32.1%

Draw conclusions as appropriate.

2 Comments:

Anonymous RT2 said...

I think there's a broader definition of socialism that deals with the human mindset most commonly associated with it.

Its the "Hate the Rich" aspect of the ideology.

Seeded more in the emotion of jealousy than in any real social injustice.

That, combined with the frustration of electoral rejection, is what the Progressives seem to be crying the loudest about this week.

The left has managed to almost universally propagate the assumption that wealthy people are greedy, when in reality the greediest people I've ever met are the poor.

And chances are they are poor due to lacking many of the personal qualities required to be uber-successful in the real world.

I think the real injustice is that the wealthy in America are required to pay more for the privilege of living here than others who enjoy the same amount of rights. Where else aside from tax policy would such an unfair pricing scheme fly?

Right now, as much as I would appreciate a tax break, I would really prefer that my "wealthy" employer have as much incentive as possible to keep struggling to make a profit next year.

I damn sure dont want him to get whacked any harder by taxes than he already is ...... and THAT is a much more common attitude in Red States.

You see, we dont care if others earn more than we do. I've made many choices in my life that have prevented me from being wealthy. I have a healthy aversion to risk that has kept me from even attempting entrepreneurship.

I wouldn't want to live in a world where we all earned the same regardless how much effort we put into the pursuit of wealth.

I think the fear of living under a bridge if I dont get off my ass every morning and find a way to support myself and my family is tantamount to the American spirit.

Yes, a little socialism is required for any society to meet the larger needs of the community, but you can have that without resenting those that have more than you, whether they deserve it or not.

December 09, 2010 7:09 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Progressives did great in the election. It's the Blue Dogs who lost, big time.

December 13, 2010 4:36 PM  

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