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Is Mississippi just that backwards? I know most of the states around it aren't great except for Tennessee, but it seems as if Mississippi doesn't really have a lot going for it. Economically it isn't the best, and in education and health care it's terrible. Even with similar problems in other Southern states, why does Mississippi still struggle?
Mississippi isn't as backwards as you'd think. Jackson is like most other metro areas it's size, although white flight there has been astronomical. I think the city is around 80% black. The coast is anything like inland Mississippi, far removed. The suburbs of Memphis are pretty healthy, and some of it's small towns are quite charming.
I don't why it's in the state it is in though. It's as if nothing ever grows or prospers almost. They didn't receive any kind of large port when the lines were drawn, they got the dirty part of the gulf coast, the casinos seemed to have helped the coast, not sure about Tunica and the Memphis area.
The resistance to change might be it's own death note.
IMO, the main reason why Mississippi lags is because it is very lack in natural resources. It has a very small coastline, but no major port, and most of the rest of the state is dominated by the Delta. Very rich farmland, and that's about it. There's no gas or oil, no minerals for mining, no mountains for recreation. It's a very bland state geographically, perhaps no more bland than Nebraska or Kansas. But then, those states don't have the stigma of racism, poverty and negative history that Mississippi has.
An effective state leadership should have been able to attract at least a decent-size manufacturing sector by now, but the other problems that plague Mississippi are just too huge to overcome. For one, recruiting new business requires money. And that's just something Mississippi doesn't have a lot of.
Is Mississippi just that backwards? I know most of the states around it aren't great except for Tennessee, but it seems as if Mississippi doesn't really have a lot going for it. Economically it isn't the best, and in education and health care it's terrible. Even with similar problems in other Southern states, why does Mississippi still struggle?
Poor education and quality of life. It's the same reason Oklahoma and to an extent Alabama has also missed out on the Southern population boom. They just aren't good places to live. Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, and Kentucky have modern cities that offer a high quality of life while still offering a low cost of living.
Poor education and quality of life. It's the same reason Oklahoma and to an extent Alabama has also missed out on the Southern population boom. They just aren't good places to live. Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, and Kentucky have modern cities that offer a high quality of life while still offering a low cost of living.
IMO, the main reason why Mississippi lags is because it is very lack in natural resources. It has a very small coastline, but no major port, and most of the rest of the state is dominated by the Delta. Very rich farmland, and that's about it. There's no gas or oil, no minerals for mining, no mountains for recreation. It's a very bland state geographically, perhaps no more bland than Nebraska or Kansas. But then, those states don't have the stigma of racism, poverty and negative history that Mississippi has.
An effective state leadership should have been able to attract at least a decent-size manufacturing sector by now, but the other problems that plague Mississippi are just too huge to overcome. For one, recruiting new business requires money. And that's just something Mississippi doesn't have a lot of.
That's too bad. One of my good friends actually went to grad school down at Southern Miss, and he never really had an answer for me. Granted he loves it down there. I'm just surprised though they haven't been able to do something to attract more people. I know it can't be that bad. Coming from Nebraska, i'd say the two states are kind of similar other than their regions (both are flat, both don't really have natural resources). The thing that gets me though is education. Why is it so bad? Nebraska's education is a little better than average, and for all the insults it gets about teaching creationism, I don't think Kansas is terrible in education. Iowa is similar too and they probably have the best educational system in the country. I know part of it is southern culture and poverty, but you'd think they'd want to invest in education if they don't have much else.
parts of miss are doing well. around oxford. mostly escape from the new detroit, memphis.
compared to louisiana mississippi looks rich.
its all relative.
Poor education and quality of life. It's the same reason Oklahoma and to an extent Alabama has also missed out on the Southern population boom. They just aren't good places to live. Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, and Kentucky have modern cities that offer a high quality of life while still offering a low cost of living.
Is Oklahoma really that bad? OKC seems like a decent city. I can see rural oklahoma being pretty bad, but OKC and Tulsa can't be doing too terrible. The cities thing makes sense. If a state has a thriving main city it does well. Honestly, Nebraska does well because Omaha and Lincoln do well. Kansas does okay because of the KC suburbs, though Wichita I hear isn't that great economically. Jackson just doesn't seem like a very influential city or economically well off. At least Alabama has Birmingham and Mobile
Also, I don't think many people realize how black (37.4 percent) and impoverished (21.6 percent) Mississippi really is. Mississippi has a HUGE underclass for a state so small, and that's really almost impossible to overcome. And as I said before, there's very little wealth or natural resources in the state to offset that poverty.
Sure, Georgia is over 30 percent black as well, but Georgia's AA population is better educated, heavily middle class to even uber-rich upper class, and mostly professional. There's no black middle class in Mississippi, relatively speaking. To this day, the majority of black families live on rural farms.
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