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The West - it grows "reliably," Americans want to live there, 1 in 4 new immigrants choose to settle in California, and its port cities are links to the burgeoning Pacific business communities.
Except that's not true. Southern California in particular is experiencing large new outflows of residents (yes, the population is growing, but still migration is negative, it's weird but true), and the 1 in 4 statistic only works because California has so many more residents to begin with and is so large compared to most states that of course more will settle there just on math alone. All that state has going for it is the Bay Area's tech industry, and while that's a simplification, it's the one stable and driving factor of their economy even as the state's fiscal situation continues to deteriorate.
Clearly the Northeast. Washington and it suburbs are already prosperous with the highest median incomes in the country. New York is the economic powerhouse of the country. Boston, Baltimore, and Philadelphia are all large cities with large economies. Maine and Vermont are the only states in the Northeast that doesn't have a large city or bedroom communities for the cities above.
From there its kinda difficult to say. All three other regions have large cities with (relatively) strong economies, but also have "dead states" weighing them down. I would say the West would rank second, more due to the strong tech economies of Northern CA, Oregon, and Washington, than Southern California's volatile economy. At the same time I wouldn't call Nevada prosperous, and the big "empty states" like Idaho, Wyoming, etc. don't really help the West's case aside from agricultural resources (but don't hurt it either since they're more or less self-sustaining).
I would place the Midwest 3rd with a slim margin over the South, mostly due to Chicago's large economy. However, nearly all of the other cities from Milwaukee to Cleveland to St. Louis are past their prime and because they've been slow to change from their industrial roots I don't see them as future icons of prosperity. The shipping of most manufacturing jobs overseas, not to mention the availability of non-union labor in the South, has nearly killed the Midwest's economy.
I would put the South in last, mostly because of all the dead weight states (no offense to anyone). While Texas and Florida have very large economies and those of North Carolina and Georgia (thanks to Atlanta) continue to grow, too many other states contribute too little (and take too much) for the region to be truly prosperous. These states include Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Alabama, all of which are very poor. Tennessee, South Carolina, and Kentucky are better, but not by that much.
Remember this is all relative. I don't think that any of these regions would be considered third-world or anything if they were independent. I also don't know where West Virginia would fit since it has traits of the Northeast, South, and Midwest, but its definitely a liability (again no offense) to whichever region its placed in.
I haven't read all of the responses to this thread, but . . . the Midwest farming states have been the most economically stable over time. There may not be extreme economic highs, but the upper midwest doesn't experience the extreme economic lows of other areas in the US. I'm obviously not counting Michigan as part of the Midwest - am refering to Minnesota down to Missouri, Indiana west to Nebraska.
If every other part of the Nation continues to overpopulate & lose farm land, and you still expect to EAT, you'd better be nice to us!
Oh - and I also wanted to note that the Midwest has more natural resources than I think most know. There are coal reserves in Iowa, considerable oil reserves in Kansas, oil and natural gas in ND, and all of the iron mines in the U.S. in MN and WI (and the UP of Michigan). We also have many small manufacturing plants, and IT companies in ND and Iowa. Most importantly, we have ports on the Great Lakes. We could do just fine without the rest of the country hanging off of us - unless you want to blockade Sault Ste. Marie!
Except that's not true. Southern California in particular is experiencing large new outflows of residents (yes, the population is growing, but still migration is negative, it's weird but true), and the 1 in 4 statistic only works because California has so many more residents to begin with and is so large compared to most states that of course more will settle there just on math alone. All that state has going for it is the Bay Area's tech industry, and while that's a simplification, it's the one stable and driving factor of their economy even as the state's fiscal situation continues to deteriorate.
We do not allow persons from New York City to become spokepersons and experts on matters of the state of California...period...your data is just as Wrong (as) the Devil Claiming To Be GOD......Lolllllllll
Clearly the Northeast. Washington and it suburbs are already prosperous with the highest median incomes in the country. New York is the economic powerhouse of the country. Boston, Baltimore, and Philadelphia are all large cities with large economies. Maine and Vermont are the only states in the Northeast that doesn't have a large city or bedroom communities for the cities above.
From there its kinda difficult to say. All three other regions have large cities with (relatively) strong economies, but also have "dead states" weighing them down. I would say the West would rank second, more due to the strong tech economies of Northern CA, Oregon, and Washington, than Southern California's volatile economy. At the same time I wouldn't call Nevada prosperous, and the big "empty states" like Idaho, Wyoming, etc. don't really help the West's case aside from agricultural resources (but don't hurt it either since they're more or less self-sustaining).
I would place the Midwest 3rd with a slim margin over the South, mostly due to Chicago's large economy. However, nearly all of the other cities from Milwaukee to Cleveland to St. Louis are past their prime and because they've been slow to change from their industrial roots I don't see them as future icons of prosperity. The shipping of most manufacturing jobs overseas, not to mention the availability of non-union labor in the South, has nearly killed the Midwest's economy.
I would put the South in last, mostly because of all the dead weight states (no offense to anyone). While Texas and Florida have very large economies and those of North Carolina and Georgia (thanks to Atlanta) continue to grow, too many other states contribute too little (and take too much) for the region to be truly prosperous. These states include Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Alabama, all of which are very poor. Tennessee, South Carolina, and Kentucky are better, but not by that much.
Remember this is all relative. I don't think that any of these regions would be considered third-world or anything if they were independent. I also don't know where West Virginia would fit since it has traits of the Northeast, South, and Midwest, but its definitely a liability (again no offense) to whichever region its placed in.
Los Angeles has the 3rd Greatest Urban Eco in the World behind Toyko..NYC...LA....Yet You Say The SoCal region Is A Basket Case.....
DC would also suffer greatly as I doubt the South would want to keep as their national capital.
I think Atlanta could be the South's capital, since it is more centrally located.
Seriously, though, much of the South is subsidized by wealthier Northern and Western states. In that regard, the South may be worse off financially if it were on its own. God bless.
New England, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania would be a powerful country.......
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