The problem with the USA in recent times has been the terrible foreign policy, but with no direct domestic consequences. Their wealth, lifestyle etc not so much IMHO. Which allows the poor general ignorance of its denizens regarding world matters. But nobody is immune, as they have discovered. The issue is which degree of intelligence is in charge when it comes. Pearl Harbor was a defining event, making the USA realise that global isolationist policy was flawed, and causing their rise as the world superpower. September 11 by contrast, though by far the more seismic event, has bought out the worst in the USA and the world is again having to clear up the sh*t they don't leave on their own doorstep.
The big three states for all the bad things (poverty, child mortality, lack of education,etc.) have been Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana, usually in that order, for a long time. West By God sneaks in occasionally, and Arkansas is never far off the pace."Thank God for Mississippi," is the byword in Alabama. Interestingly, despite Katty whatever her name is, a peculiarly witless boob, Romney vs. Obama was not a class struggle, or at least not in the way she had in mind. All but one of the 10 richest states voted for Obama. All but one of the 10 poorest voted for Romney. The chickens love voting for Colonel Sanders. Also interestingly, the parts of the country that drain into the Gulf are very red, while those that drain into the Atlantic and Pacific are blue, to a very great extent. That stat for England makes sense if you lump everyone together. We have a massively rich upper crust, which makes average wealth misleading. I'd be surprised if it was true for the fiftieth percentile earner. I wouldn't be shocked, though. It wasn't so long ago the UK was really not a particularly rich country, compared to other western countries. A very strong dollar may also be involved. Our medical and internet cost have nothing to do with anything other than the fact that they are both really massive scams, aided and abetted by "the best politicians money can buy," a good description of our leaders. A book I'd like to write but never will about American foreign policy would be called "Evil and Stupid." It takes something to be both. These days I keep thinking how marvelously convenient Isis and Islamic extremism is for the US military industrial complex. You'd think with the cold war over, we'd have to prune their money tree. But no, due to a pathetically weak enemy that's hardly worth noticing. We know their biggest fish, Osama, was trained by the CIA. I'll leave it there.
i actually googled it over the weekend and rwaeb is right, mississippi was the one quoted. The bottom 10 was highly populated with Southern states. Louisana and Alabama were definitely there as was North Carolina. Tennessee, that one i'm interested in, just avoided the bottom 10 by coming in at number 40 on the list.
Got to love Not 606...how subjects can change, starts off with West Brom then talks about poverty, child mortality, lack of education,etc. Hmm...guess it's not that much of a change
