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... and every single bottom 10 state in life expectancy is a red state.
Below is the top 10:
You can complain about high taxes, high prices, large numbers of homeless, illegal immigrants or whatever else you want about the blue states, but there are few indicators that are a better gauge of the well-being of the population than life expectancy. And in that category, blue states stand head-and-shoulders above the red states.
There are some red states in the Plains and Rocky Mountains that do pretty well, but they still aren't as good as the top 10 blue states.
Why do Hispanics have a higher life expectancy than non Hispanic whites despite less access to health care and lower incomes?
The red states that do pretty well tend to have a lower concentration of African Americans than the red states that do poorly. Demographics matter.
I would agree that diet is a factor. Undoubtedly things like smoking habits as well.
But yet again, the fact that even within the same race we see that people in blue states live longer, tells us that race is a secondary factor.
Whites in blue states tend to live longer than whites in red states.
Blacks in blue states tend to live longer than blacks in red states.
Latinos in blue states (with a weaker correlation) tend to live longer than Latinos in red states.
You red state fans are going to have to live with the fact that something about the states you love, is killing its residents prematurely.
It's killing the residents as a collective prematurely.
Saying the same about individual residents is another matter.
I'm not overweight. I don't smoke. I don't drink alcohol. I don't eat fried foods. I rarely eat meat. I get enough protein. My diet is high fiber and low in sugar. I take an occasional ibuprofen if I get a headache. I take vitamins every day. My BP is normal. Other vitals are normal. I drink herbal tea with probiotics.
I don't think my longevity is going to be affected that much by which state I live in. I might as well live where the policies are most to my liking that also allows me access to activities that I enjoy.
I'm guessing you aren't old...I'll be 80 next year, and it's the heat I can't deal with....The people that are killed by heat waves are the elderly.
Even given that, there are a number of people who agree with skeddy on this, rather than with you....and some of those people are people who agree with you politically.
Also noteworthy is that the lowest 10 states are also the 10 highest in black population as a % and blacks on average live 4.5 years less on average than whites....white people in Mississippi for example, live longer than blacks in California. SO the Democrats in the red states have the shortest lifespan of anybody.
Exactly!! The Democrats are bringing the red states life expectancy down.
WAIT A MINUTE...
So you are saying if all the stuff that bad policies and lack of public health goes away, we would all be closer to the same? Of course! That's the whole point.
Most every one of the things you mention are related to bad policy - even car accidents. In Florida they have no car inspection - and 2X the amount of car accidents and deaths.
If more people are Obese it's often due to lack of education and public health....something championed by Conservatives (who fight for 64 oz sodas and more diabetes).
Murder and gun violence are tied to gun laws and/or similar. MA has one of the lowest murder rates and longest lives...and the toughest gun laws!
"Control for these Variables"....laughable. These variables are related to the will of the voters or pols and businesses that own the states.
""It's a perfect storm for depression," Shelton said. "Alabama is a rural state where social isolation and lack of access to mental health services are a double burden"
""Another major risk factor for depression is poor physical health. Alabama's high rates of obesity, metabolic health disorders and the health problems that come with them add to the risk.""
And look at the White Suicide rates there. You can control for whatever you want, but it is the result of modern policies that has kept the bottom states on the bottom.
But Florida also has no fault car insurance, which might reduce motivation to be as careful as possible.
The issue of race/demographics is coming up repeatedly in spite of being discussed already, so I'm going to bump my first post on the topic.
Even if you look *just* at a single race (like whites), blue states do better.
Quote:
Originally Posted by James Bond 007
To be sure, demographics play a factor, but even if you look at *just* white people (according to your own link), blue states still generally come out better. Though the Plains and Rocky Mountain red states do get bumped up, relatively.
1. District of Columbia
2. Minnesota
3. Connecticut
4. New York
5. Hawaii
5. Massachusetts
5. South Dakota
5. Vermont
9. New Jersey
9. Wisconsin
11. Colorado
11. North Dakota
13. New Hampshire
13. Utah
15. Nebraska
16. Arizona
16. California
16. Iowa
19. Rhode Island
19. Washington
21. Alaska
21. Idaho
21. Maryland
21. Virginia
25. Illinois
26. Oregon
27. Florida
27. Maine
27. Montana
30. Michigan
30. New Mexico
32. Pennsylvania
33. Kansas
34. Delaware
35. Wyoming
36. North Carolina
37. Ohio
38. Texas
39. South Carolina
40. Indiana
40. Missouri
42. Georgia
43. Louisiana
43. Nevada
43. Tennessee
46. Arkansas
47. Mississippi
48. Alabama
48. Kentucky
48. Oklahoma
51. West Virginia
Now, I don't think it's necessary to get into a debate as to whether certain states are blue states or red states, but you can clearly see the trend is for blue states to be at the top, and red states to be at the bottom. The only certifiably blue state in the top 10 is South Dakota, and in the bottom 10, Nevada is a purple state, and maybe Georgia too. All the others are red states.
And, yet again, since this is for whites only, you can't say that blacks are dragging down the averages of the Southern states clustered near the bottom, because there are no blacks in this particular list.
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