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Red States: Less Freedom, More Poverty, Shorter LivesNothing better illustrates each parties vision than how they manage statewide policy.
Flyou're born in Massachusetts, you'll likely live to 79. If you're born in Mississippi, you'll be lucky to see 71. That eight-year gap in life expectancy between America's bluest and reddest states isn't an anomaly.¹ It's part of a pattern that shows up in virtually every measure of human wellbeing.
Let's start with the most basic metric: staying alive. Democratic states own the top of the life expectancy rankings. Hawaii leads at 79.9 years, followed by Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York.¹ Republican states own the bottom. Mississippi's 70.9 years ranks dead last, followed by West Virginia, Alabama, Louisiana, and Kentucky.¹ This isn't bad luck or geography. It's what the Repulican party wants for it's constituents. Texas has the highest uninsured rate in America at 18.8%.³ Massachusetts has the lowest at 2.9%.³ Every single state that refused to expand Medicaid has a Republican trifecta.⁴ The result? People die from treatable diseases. Maternal mortality tells the same story. Louisiana kills mothers at 58.1 deaths per 100,000 births. Georgia follows at 48.4, then Indiana, Arkansas, and Alabama, all Republican strongholds.⁵ Massachusetts loses just 17 mothers per 100,000 births. California loses even fewer.⁵ The Existential Republic is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. For babies, Mississippi's infant mortality rate of 9.11 deaths per 1,000 births doubles that of Massachusetts at 3.94.⁶ If Mississippi had Massachusetts' infant mortality rate, 250 Mississippi babies would live each year instead of dying. Republicans claim their states are economic powerhouses. The data says otherwise. Maryland's median household income hits $108,200. Massachusetts reaches $96,900. Connecticut follows close behind.⁷ Mississippi scrapes by at $52,700, West Virginia at $55,200, Louisiana at $57,500.⁷ "But the cost of living!" Republicans counter. Fair enough, let's check the numbers. After adjusting for costs, Mississippi's purchasing power rises to $48,200.⁸ Still dead last. Still thousands below every blue state average.
Children, like any vulnerable group, suffer even more when Republicans are given any power. Mississippi condemns 26.4% of its children to poverty.¹⁰ One in four kids. New Hampshire's child poverty rate? 6.9%.¹⁰ That's the difference between a developed and undeveloped nation. Education follows the same stark pattern. Massachusetts students score 225 on fourth-grade reading tests.¹¹ The national average is 214. Mississippi students score 208.¹¹ By eighth grade, the gap widens further. The entire top tier of education performance consists of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, and New Jersey, all blue states.¹¹ The bottom tier includes New Mexico, Alabama, Louisiana, and Nevada, all deep red states except New Mexico.¹¹ Money matters here. New York spends $29,284 per student. Connecticut spends $25,000. Massachusetts spends $22,000.¹² Now look at the states with the worst educational outcomes: Mississippi spends $10,343. Alabama spends $11,774. Louisiana spends $13,108. Oklahoma spends $9,893. Idaho barely cracks $9,000.¹² Mississippi spends literally one-third of what New York spends per student. You get what you pay for, and Republican states don't see children our future as a worthwhile investment. The college graduation gap is enormous. In Massachusetts, 50.6% of adults have bachelor's degrees.¹³ In West Virginia, 24.1% do.¹³ Every blue state in our analysis exceeds 35% college graduation. Most red states can't crack 30%. Before you say "Mississippi is just poor," let's talk about Texas and Florida. Texas has the second largest economy in America. Florida has the fourth. These aren't poor states, they're economic powerhouses that choose to let their people suffer. Texas, despite its trillion-dollar economy, maintains the highest uninsured rate in the nation at 18.8%. Florida, despite massive budget surpluses, ranks 44th in healthcare access and has the most regressive tax system in America. Meanwhile, Vermont, with an economy smaller than Corpus Christi's, provides near-universal healthcare coverage. Maine, with half of Florida's GDP per capita, achieves better education outcomes. New Mexico, despite being one of the poorest blue states, still manages lower maternal mortality than wealthy Texas. This isn't about money. It's about choices. Red states with plenty of money choose to spend it on corporate tax breaks instead of keeping mothers alive. They choose to ban books instead of fund schools. They have the resources to match Massachusetts' outcomes tomorrow. They simply choose not to.
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that in the 10 most regressive tax states, mostly Republican-controlled, families earning under $24,000 pay up to 17% of their income in state and local taxes. In the 10 least regressive states, mostly Democratic, those same families pay around 7-10%.²⁶ When Republicans brag about "no income tax," they're really saying "we tax the poor instead of the rich." Blue states use graduated income taxes that protect working families. Red states use sales taxes and fees that hammer them. A family making $30,000 in Texas pays a higher percentage of their income in taxes than a family making $30,000 in California.²⁶ So much for the low-tax paradise. Republicans love talking about freedom. Let's examine what freedom actually means in red states. In Texas, the government forces women to carry dead fetuses to term.¹⁴ Women have died from this. In Florida, the state investigates parents who support their trans children.¹⁵ In Tennessee, you can be fired for being gay.¹⁶ In Alabama, librarians face prison for having the wrong books.¹⁷ That's not freedom. That's authoritarian control.
The book banning numbers show a clear divide. Florida banned 4,561 books last school year, nearly half the national total.²⁰ Iowa banned 3,671.²⁰ Meanwhile, California, New York, and Illinois banned zero. Zero.²⁰ Here's the good news: people who want this lifestyle are moving to red states. Texas gained 85,267 residents last year. North Carolina added 82,288. South Carolina picked up 68,043.²³ Meanwhile, California lost 239,575 people, New York lost 120,917, Illinois lost 56,235.²³
The migration data reveals something else: it's slowing dramatically. Florida's net migration dropped 80% from 2022 to 2024.²³ As remote work policies tighten and people experience the reality of life in these states, the exodus is decelerating. We now have two separate countries operating under one flag. In Blue America, people live longer, earn more, learn more, and enjoy more personal freedom. They also pay more for housing.²⁵ In Red America, people die younger, earn less, learn less, and face government intrusion into their most personal decisions. But their houses are more affordable. This isn't about cultural preferences or regional traditions. It's about measurable outcomes. When your state has the highest maternal mortality in the developed world, Louisiana, that's not a different philosophy.⁵ That's failure. When 26% of your children live in poverty while another state achieves 7%, you're not "choosing different values."¹⁰ You're failing your kids. When you ban 4,561 books while claiming to support freedom, you're not protecting anyone.²⁰ You're revealing your authoritarian impulses. If you didn't know whether you'd be born rich or poor, black or white, straight or gay, healthy or sick, which state would you choose? If you're honest, you'd pick Massachusetts over Mississippi every time. You'd choose life over death, education over ignorance, freedom over control. The data doesn't lie. The gap between red and blue states isn't closing. It's widening. Every year, the life expectancy gap grows. The education gap expands. The freedom gap yawns wider. Republicans will keep claiming their states are better. But their residents keep dying younger, earning less, and learning less while having their most fundamental freedoms stripped away. That's not partisan spin. That's what the numbers show. This is a feature, not a bug for Republicans, they would rather rule over hell than serve in heaven. The American experiment was supposed to let states compete to provide the best life for their citizens. That competition is over. Blue states won. For more on why red states choose suffering over solutions, see my book "Conservatism: America's Empathy Disorder" - available on Amazon. Works Cited
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