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By Robert A. Vella

A stunning article by Annie Lowrey of Time Magazine contains a detailed map of U.S. counties rated by education, median household income, unemployment rate, disability rate, life expectancy, and obesity.  By far, the hardest counties to live in are concentrated in the American South.  Coincidentally or not, these states are also dominated by conservative politics.

Check it out:  Where Are the Hardest Places to Live in the U.S.?

8 thoughts on “Southern States have the hardest counties to live in the U.S.”

      • I am surprised though to see Maricopa County where I live here is Arizona to be dark blue. That fortune certainly hasn’t been seen in my community. All the neighborhood and community is struggling.

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        • Interesting. My county – Cowlitz in WA state – ranks in the bottom 25% and it is overwhelmingly White and Christian. The unemployment rate here is near 11% and there are boarded-up businesses everywhere throughout the county’s two major towns (Longview, Kelso). Our residents are not very well educated, have many health problems, lack any sense of civic duty, and seem to have resigned themselves to a meager existence.

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      • Yeah I have no idea how Maricopa County ranks so high. I guess they are talking about places like Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Sun City. Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa are not doing so great. Lots of rich retired people move here is probably helping the stats go up. It’s the weather, the climate, the scenery, the conservative legislature, low taxes they like. I am with them on the first three things but the last two I see as the number one reason Arizona is suffering. There is big wealth and opportunity gaps in Arizona. The wealth gap is huge in this state. Lots of dichotomies here, lots of paradoxes, lots of contrast.

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  2. Land of Opportunity? That is just depressing to look at that map. This great recession were coming out of hit a lot of people. I hope the Tea Party doesn’t make major gains in this next election. If they do I fear for the future.

    Gosh them controlling both houses, talk about a broken government. The lamest of lame duck governments I am afraid if that is how things go down. Nothing will get done and the people will suffer.

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    • Your fear is probably justified. As reported many times on this blog, Democrats are struggling to hold several U.S. Senate seats in conservative red states. Voter turnout in midterm elections is generally about 20 percentage points lower than in presidential election years, and low turnout is very disadvantageous for Democratic candidates. Furthermore, a GOP-controlled House and Senate means much more than just political obstructionism. Republicans, pushed by their Tea Party extremists, would likely be empowered to shutdown the government once again, force a federal default on the nation’s debt, force President Obama into all sorts of costly concessions, and possibly even try to impeach him.

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      • Good point even the Veto power can only take President Obama so far. Though looking further out that may be advantageous to the Democrats in 2016. After two years of that the people will be begging for Hillary and the Democrats. That is if the Tea Party haven’t burned down the house by then. Still I am not in the mood for two years of hell. If the GOP does all that there will be riots from Washinton D.C. to Los Angeles, from sea to shining sea. Obama may have to order a state of emergency. It could get ugly if the GOP oversteps.

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