I don't know the politics of the organization that did this study (they seem right-leaning), but if people are going to clutch their pearls over it, I'd insist they challenge the study's methodology and data rather than the political leanings of the authors:
New York, New Jersey and California failed in their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic because of stringent lockdowns and policies, while Florida was among the best-performing states in the country, a new study has found.
The study, published by the Committee To Unleash Prosperity, graded states by comparing COVID-19 outcomes based on the number of deaths, the economy and impact on education.
Overall, the bottom 10 on the study’s “report card” were dominated by states that had the most severe pandemic lockdowns and were among the last to finally reopen schools...
The study found that the states that locked down businesses, churches, schools and restaurants for lengthy periods did not have lower death rates than those that largely remained open...
The study was authored by University of Chicago economist Casey Mulligan, Stephen Moore of the Heritage Foundation and Phil Kerpen from the Committee to Unleash Prosperity.
So, where's the actual study? I can't find any of the raw data or the statistical analyses in the link provided.
ReplyDeleteA quick look at worldometers shows Florida ranked #17 in deaths per capita (3,426) whereas California is ranked #39 (2,266), and the top 5 states in deaths per capita all have Republican governors.
21.3% of Florida is 65+ years of age whereas 15.2% of California is 65+ years of age. This age difference is not enough to explain the >1.5x higher death per capita in Florida compared to California (indeed, overall, California still has more people age >65 than Florida in terms of raw numbers).
Nonetheless, I do want to see the actual study -- not some NY post summary. It's impossible to critique a study when there's no link to the actual study, the statistics done, or the data used.
https://committeetounleashprosperity.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Which-States-Handled-the-Covid-Pandemic-Best.pdf
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