Obama’s Support is Strongest in States Where Jobs are Fewer and Americans are Less Free
Kyle Becker | On 12, Feb 2014
Three major statistics provide the big picture on where America stands today: Obama approval, economic freedom, and job creation.
The following are the states where the president has the highest approval via Gallup: Hawaii (61.3), Maryland (57.0), Rhode Island (56.7), New York (56.7), Vermont (56.6), Massachusetts (56.5), New Jersey (56.4), California (55.8), and Connecticut (55.1); topped off by Washington D.C. (80.8) for good measure.
Now, let’s survey the state of overall freedom in the states (this follows economic freedom closely) on this interactive map provided by George Mason University’s Mercatus Center:
The freedom rankings (higher numbers are more unfree) of the above states: Hawaii (#47), Maryland (#40), Rhode Island (#44), New York (#50), Vermont (#46), Massachusetts (#33), New Jersey (#48), California (#49), and Connecticut (#42).
So what, then? Well, here’s the so-what: the states that are least economically free also tend to be poor job creators. The following are these states’ indexes on the Gallup’s Job Creation Index, which run from a low of 12 to a high of 40: Hawaii (23*), Maryland (21), Rhode Island (12), NY (15), Vermont (13), Massachusetts (22), New Jersey (17), California (21), and Connecticut (15).
The only high-approval area that is creating jobs? Washington D.C.. And why might that be? Because it is sucking dry the productive economy of the rest of the country and replacing those jobs with paper-shuffling desk jockey jobs that actually get in workers’ and producers’ way.
For contrast, let’s compare the approval rating of Obama in the top jobs-producing states: North Dakota (35.5), South Dakota (31.7), Delaware (54.4*), Nebraska (37.5), Minnesota (48.2), Texas (45.6), Michigan (47.8), Iowa (42.4), Arizona (44.5), Wisconsin (46.2), and Hawaii (61.3*).
Ironically, while the scores of the higher jobs-producing states may actually be biased towards a more favorable approval of Obama (because thei states are freer, they are relatively better off), those states that are more unfree are still very high on Obama, despite their stagnant economies.
This leads into the argument that Washington D.C.’s entitlement programs, higher taxation, and debt spending, led at the forefront by the Democrat Party, are necessary tools of potential voter dependence in poor jobs-producing states. Because these policy tools make states more unfree, they lead to less jobs creation (a certain causal direction).
And because there is less jobs creation, there is more need for entitlement programs. This is a well-known “vicious cycle” that spreads misery and poverty; but the Democrats focus on “fairness” and push “fixing” inequality as imaginary amelioratives of the worsening situation.
While the world is becoming economically freer and much less impoverished, the United States is becoming less free and its economic growth is deteriorating. Poverty is spreading in America, but the nation keeps centralizing the economy – a model other nations are fleeing from and to their benefit.
It’s really simple: Americans who value freedom and want to work and get on with life don’t approve of Obama for those very reasons. States where most people don’t value freedom are quite fond of Barack Obama’s big government policies.
That’s why the Framers designed a system of Constitutional federalism, so that people could live more in accordance with their preferences. And it’s another reason why Washington D.C.’s bullying of citizens who want to lead peaceful, productive lives is so unjust.
http://www.ijreview.com/2014/02/114612-obama-strongest-support-states-relatively-unfree-low-jobs-producing-states/
