Conservatives deride Massachusetts, but it's got a pretty good record
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The political expletive in this season's Republican presidential race is "Massachusetts moderate," aimed at Mitt Romney. The power of the accusation, presumably, is that the Bay State's brand of politics has left it much worse off than red states that hew the conservative line. Or put conversely, conservative politics yield better outcomes.
Except that they don't.
By almost every important factual measure -- economic, educational and socioeconomic -- Massachusetts is vastly better off than the nation's most right-wing states.
The five most conservative states in the country are Wyoming, Mississippi, Utah, Alabama and South Dakota, according to a 2010 Gallup Survey. These are the exemplars that candidates such as Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum would have the nation emulate. One has to wonder why.
For one, they're a lot poorer. The median family income in Massachusetts is just over $61,300 -- fourth highest in the nation. The average for the conservative states is $46,400. (Even adjusted for its higher cost of living, the Bay State is still better off than any conservative state.)
Of course, money isn't everything. Massachusetts kids are smarter, too. The National Assessment of Educational Progress, sometimes called the "nation's report card," compares fourth- and eighth-graders' performance in math and reading across the country. The difference between Massachusetts and the conservative states is staggering.
In 2011, 50 percent of Massachusetts fourth graders were proficient in reading; the number was just 30 percent for the red states. Indeed, in every single category, Massachusetts ranked first in the nation, with roughly half or more of its kids proficient. In the conservative states, the comparable figures usually average less than one-third. That's why 38 percent of Massachusetts children complete college -- also the best of any state. The average for the conservative states is just 24 percent.
Residents of Massachusetts are healthier as well. At 80.1 years, Massachusetts ranks sixth in the United States for life expectancy. The red states average 77.5. (Utah -- due to its preponderance of clean-living Mormons -- is the only conservative state with a similar life expectancy.)
Why? Fewer residents of Massachusetts are fat (22 percent versus the red states' 29 percent); they exercise regularly (37 percent versus 27 percent) and, with the exception of Utah (again, the Mormon thing), smoke less.
First Published February 14, 2012 12:00 am
