In steps US News and World Report, hardly a conservative magazine:
Policymakers have implemented a number of regulations over the past half-century to ensure a safe relationship between people and their environment. Under the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency regulates air pollution. Similarly, the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act ensure that states properly dispose of pollutants at treatment plants and that public drinking water meets federal standards.How does oh-so-progressive California rank?
These laws not only help preserve the nation's natural resources, but they protect the public from harmful toxins and resulting health concerns that affect their quality of life.
In addition to a healthy environment, a person's quality of life is largely a result of their interactions with those around them. Studies show that when people feel socially supported, they experience greater happiness, as well as physical and mental health.
North Dakota and Minnesota are the most effective at promoting their citizens' well-being by providing both a healthy environment and a sense of social connectedness. Other top states include Wisconsin, New Hampshire, South Dakota and Mississippi.
#50Oops.California
Update, 10/15/18: The weather in San Diego is nice, so California has that going for it. But what merits that poor ranking above? Maybe it's something related to this:
Today California is creating a feudalized society characterized by the ultra-rich, a diminishing middle class and a large, rising segment of the population that is in or near poverty.Overall our state state now suffers one of the highest GINI rates — the ratio between the wealthiest and the poorest—among the states, and the inequality is growing faster than in almost any state outside the Northeast, notes liberal economist James Galbraith. The state’s level of inequality now is higher than that of Mexico, and closer to that of Central American banana republics like Guatemala and Honduras than it is to developed states like Canada and Norway.
California, adjusted for costs, has the overall highest poverty rate in the country, according to the United States Census Bureau. A recent United Way study showed that close to one in three of the state’s families are barely able to pay their bills. Overall, 8 million Californians live in poverty, including 2 million children, a number that according to a recent report, has risen since the Great Recession, despite the boom.
Mississippi has the lowest average life span of any state. That fact is not compatible with the assertion that they have a high level of well-being.
ReplyDeleteI have become convinced that the real divide in our country is not between the left and right, but between those whose political beliefs are determined by feelings and those who follow the facts without regard to whether or not these facts support conservative or liberal talking points.
California dreamin', on such a voters' day...
ReplyDeleteOh will you look at that? Dead last.. and my home state of NJ is right behind you at 49.
ReplyDeleteWhat's happening in NJ is basically a microcosm of what's happening in CA. Natives are fleeing due to similar challenges as California faces. Corruption, unions ruining everything, more and more people voting "left and lefter", the pension is insolvent,big government runs everything and is in bed with Menéndez, Booker, and the new Governor... Yuck. It's a mini California. (Throw in NY too. They're just as screwed.)
1st anonymous: more goes into the "well-being" score than *just* lifespan. While I understand your point, it seems a little ill-conceived.
ReplyDeleteLooking at the US News methodology, they evaluated a number of criteria for "Natural Environment" and "Social Environment." One thing they did which was interesting was to rate them against statewide surveys of what people thought government priorities should be. So they essentially included weights based on what people of the state value.
ReplyDeleteSimple longevity, while easy to measure, may not measure what people actually value.
That said, reading the methodology of this particular US News ranking makes me think it about as meaningful as their ranking of colleges and universities. Amusing reading, and it gives those who rank highly some ad fodder, but not of any real significance.
I agree. I only like their ratings when *my* school ranks highly :)
ReplyDeleteStill, while I doubt there's *no* methodology that would satisfy everyone, it's thought-provoking nonetheless.