A couple of weeks ago, CNBC released its annual rankings of the best to worst states in America to live in... from a business perspective. The 10 worst are all very red states governed by extreme conservative ideology. CNBC's rankers considered "multiple quality of life factors, including crime rates, environmental quality, and health care. We also look at the quality and availability of childcare, which is one of the most important factors in getting parents back into the workforce. Casting the widest possible net for workers means not turning anyone away. So we consider inclusiveness in state laws by measuring protections against discrimination, as well as voting rights. And with surveys showing a substantial percentage of women considering abortion restrictions when making a choice of where to live in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, reproductive rights are part of this year’s equation as well." These are the 10 best states:
1- Vermont- 30.7% Trump
2- Maine- 44.0% Trump
3- New Jersey- 41.4% Trump
4- Minnesota- 45.3% Trump
5- Hawaii- 34.3% Trump
6- Oregon- 40.4% Trump
7- Washington- 38.8% Trump
8 (tie)- Colorado- 41.9% Trump
8 (tie)- Massachusetts- 32.1% Trump
10- Connecticut- 39.2% Trump
Look at that, they’re all progressive states and Trump did poorly in his 2020 reelection bid in each one. What a coincidence! And the worst states…
10- Florida- 51.2% Trump
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis hopes to ride his “War on Woke” to the White House, but it is not winning his state points for quality of life. Supporters of the state’s “Stop WOKE Act”, which DeSantis signed into law in 2022, say it protects employees from diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives that DeSantis says are toxic. But many companies consider DEI an economic imperative, and courts have struck down parts of the law. The recent Supreme Court decision on affirmative action in higher education, however, is expected to lead to new legal challenges related to DEI programs in the corporate world.
Florida is also one of the most difficult states to vote in, according to researchers at Northern Illinois University. DeSantis argues that none of this is stopping huge numbers of people from moving to Florida, and he has a point. The state leads the nation in just about every measure of migration. But rated strictly on Life, Health and Inclusion, the Sunshine State can be a dreary place.
2023 Life, Health & Inclusion Score: 129 out of 350 points (Top States Grade: D)
Strengths: Air Quality, Childcare, Worker Protections
9- Arkansas- 62.4% Trump
8- Tennessee- 60.7% Trump
7- Indiana- 57.0% Trump
6- Missouri- 56.8% Trump
4 (tie)- Alabama- 62.0% Trump
4 (tie)- South Carolina- 55.1% Trump
3- Louisiana- 58.5% Trump
2- Oklahoma- 65.4% Trump
1- Texas- 52.1% Trump, the worst state in the country… what a shock.
How could 200,000 college educated workers moving to Texas each year possibly be wrong? It depends on how you look at it. With the nation’s highest percentage of people without health insurance and the second lowest number of primary care physicians per capita, all those new Texans are arriving to find a dismal health care system. Texas has the nation’s thirteenth-highest violent crime rate, and it ranks thirty seventh for licensed childcare facilities per capita.
The Lone Star State keeps hacking away at inclusiveness, with laws targeting the LGBTQ+ population, voting rights, and the nation’s strictest abortion ban. Yes, there are enormous economic opportunities in Texas, and it is attracting people from far and wide. But this state also has some Texas-sized issues when it comes to life, health and inclusion. And it is one of the reasons that the state fell out of the overall top five for the first time in the 16-year history of CNBC’s rankings.
2023 Life, Health & Inclusion Score: 53 out of 350 points (Top States Grade: F)
Strengths: No metrics in the top 25
Weaknesses: Reproductive Rights, Health, Voting Rights, Worker Protections, Inclusiveness
politically, FL is the worst. it's our nazi reich's bavaria -- its birthplace.
intellectually, IMO, it's OK by a wide margin. dumbest white people in the history of earth.
It's not hard to understand why TX is such a shithole. W cut taxes and services in order to impress nazi voters so he could run for president. Even before that, the TX lege led the nation in overt corruption and metastacized that cancer to DC for decades. Names like abramoff? gomert? baja ted? anyone?
corporations love shitholes that have low taxes, no matter how bad services and infrastructure are. they only care about low taxes = higher profits. fools who move to TX to "work" for these corporations will r…