RE: Anyone notice Blue states tend to me more fiscally responsible?
February 25, 2017 at 11:33 pm
Well, I mean, I think the deal is this:
Highly-populated states (like CA and TX and FL and NY and IL) are going to have decent finances regardless of their policies, because they have lots of people and reasons for people to go there and jobs want to be by people and such. So some of them are going to be blue states with good economies, and some will be red states with good economies.
But then, small states look to the big states they are most ideologically similar to, and say "well, that state has a really good (red/blue) economy, and we're (red/blue), so we'll mimic their economy and achieve success like them!" What that's really doing is kicking any kind of empirical assessment of economic decision making to the curb in favor of ideological purity, and it has really crappy consequences, empirically.
But (and this is why libertarianism isn't a sustainable economic policy, but that's a *whole other* can of worms), people by and large don't care about actual results if they like the process. The average voter in, say, Oklahoma *is literally happier* being poorer and knowing they're so super red and that their state is a "free market haven" than they would be having more money and a better economy that's based on TAXATION WHICH IS LITERALLY THEFT YO.
And, hey, don't get me wrong - the blueys do this too. NO ONE makes economic policy based on anything that could be seriously called "rational thought" at this point. The important point for the purpose of this thread, though, seems to be that the smaller blue states and blue policies *do, in reality, attain better results.* There's lots of ways to frame it, and one can analyze the reasons for it into oblivion, but I don't think it can be seriously alleged that, in any given state, "red economic policy" is going to be better for the bottom line than "blue economic policy," with the possible exception of states that derive a significant portion of their gdp from natural resources rather than workers (and there are maybe 5 such states in the union).
Highly-populated states (like CA and TX and FL and NY and IL) are going to have decent finances regardless of their policies, because they have lots of people and reasons for people to go there and jobs want to be by people and such. So some of them are going to be blue states with good economies, and some will be red states with good economies.
But then, small states look to the big states they are most ideologically similar to, and say "well, that state has a really good (red/blue) economy, and we're (red/blue), so we'll mimic their economy and achieve success like them!" What that's really doing is kicking any kind of empirical assessment of economic decision making to the curb in favor of ideological purity, and it has really crappy consequences, empirically.
But (and this is why libertarianism isn't a sustainable economic policy, but that's a *whole other* can of worms), people by and large don't care about actual results if they like the process. The average voter in, say, Oklahoma *is literally happier* being poorer and knowing they're so super red and that their state is a "free market haven" than they would be having more money and a better economy that's based on TAXATION WHICH IS LITERALLY THEFT YO.
And, hey, don't get me wrong - the blueys do this too. NO ONE makes economic policy based on anything that could be seriously called "rational thought" at this point. The important point for the purpose of this thread, though, seems to be that the smaller blue states and blue policies *do, in reality, attain better results.* There's lots of ways to frame it, and one can analyze the reasons for it into oblivion, but I don't think it can be seriously alleged that, in any given state, "red economic policy" is going to be better for the bottom line than "blue economic policy," with the possible exception of states that derive a significant portion of their gdp from natural resources rather than workers (and there are maybe 5 such states in the union).
How will we know, when the morning comes, we are still human? - 2D
Don't worry, my friend. If this be the end, then so shall it be.
Don't worry, my friend. If this be the end, then so shall it be.
