Is MA a liberal state? (Boston, Cambridge: 2015, rent, high crime)

[Whatsnext75]

If MA is so liberal then why do we are we one of the most expensive states to live in? It doesnt make sense. Your think we'd be a Republican state. If we're so liberal you'd think people would be fighting the rising costs but that's something they just are dealing with I guess. They say they're so concerned about people in need but do they even care about the amount of taxes taken out their own paychecks? The more I think about it, the less it makes sense. How could sucj liberal people stand to live on such a pricey area?

[iDothisoften]

Because liberals like to help the disadvantaged "over there". They'll advocate for the underdog but wouldn't want to live anywhere near them. I live in Chelsea, which is one of the poorest, high crime areas in the metro Boston area and have never seen any yuppie types doing community work here. Yet if you were to say anything disparaging about immigrants, they'd belligerently come to their defense. They feel like they can save the world with good intentions and hashtag activism.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by Whatsnext75

If MA is so liberal then why do we are we one of the most expensive states to live in?

I would think liberal states would have a lot of social programs and a lot of government agencies. Therefore, they would be more expensive to live in than a conservative state. Conservatives believe in small government. Small government is less expensive.

[thenewtexan]

Actually conservative states are also the poorest states. Any state dominated by the religious right and "Christian values" tend to marginalize the poor the most. Four of the ten most socioeconomically segregated cities are here in Texas. None are in MA.
America's Most Economically Segregated Cities - CityLab

[UKWildcat1981]

MA is a liberal state politically but its not that liberal socially, people made stupid ignorant comment all the I time about Blacks, Jews and Latinos when I lived in Boston. I had to deal stupid comments all the time about inter racial dating because I was white and Jewish and my gf was black at the time. I went to BU, still loved Boston, great college town thou.

[tovarisch]

Classic example of anecdotal reasoning, I'm sorry to say. Data is better.

[bUU]

Originally Posted by Whatsnext75

If MA is so liberal then why do we are we one of the most expensive states to live in? It doesnt make sense. Your think we'd be a Republican state. If we're so liberal you'd think people would be fighting the rising costs but that's something they just are dealing with I guess. They say they're so concerned about people in need but do they even care about the amount of taxes taken out their own paychecks? The more I think about it, the less it makes sense. How could sucj liberal people stand to live on such a pricey area?

I cannot imagine where you got the idea that liberal states were those that were less expensive to live in.

Liberalism, as the term is used today, has its roots in Theodore Roosevelt's New Nationalism, Woodrow Wilson's New Freedom, Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, Harry S. Truman's Fair Deal, John F. Kennedy's New Frontier, and Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society. These efforts had practically nothing to do with the mean cost of living, but rather specifically acknowledged the priority of addressing the cost of living pressures associated with earning substantially below the mean. Liberalism asks someone whether they would rather live as a middle class person without the ability to vacation in Aruba or as a poor person without the ability to afford essential medications.

Originally Posted by tovarisch

Data is better.

Contrast MA with GA, a conservative state.

- Georgia's cost of living is 35% lower

But:

- There are 50% more Georgians with no high school diploma
- There are 30% more Georgian infants deaths
- Georgians die an average of 3.3 years earlier

That's the value proposition of liberal versus conservative: The cost of living for the average person is higher in Massachusetts, but people are more intelligent, healthier and longer-lived.

[CaseyB]

Parts of Massachusetts are liberal and parts are not.

[vtecluder617]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

Parts of Massachusetts are liberal and parts are not.

Agreed. The South Shore, from what I can tell by living here for 3 years now, is pretty conservative.

[Whatsnext75]

I guess I would just assume that liberal people are frugal people and would spend a good amount of their paycheck on charities and not on rent/mortgage. However if they are living in Cambridge and Somerville as many of them do, then they are not or what they give back to the community isnt much. People i work with are some of the most liberal people i've ever met and none of them seem to do anything of actual substance other than rant about how much they cant stand trump or the police. It's just funny to see them at work trying to penny pinch where ever they can , wanting to save everyone who is in need, yet they spend ridiculous amounts on a place to live of their own. I guess they don't have much of a choice if this is where their job is.

I also know a lot of liberals in VT who seem to be 'truer liberals.' i just find it a load of crap that someone who pays 3k on rent is all about being a minimialist and helping the poor. How helpful can they be when they are house/rent poor? I think this state is full of limousine liberals. They are all talk. If youre truly liberal and you want to save the earth and it's people move to Athol.