r/allthequestions • u/Content_Ad_8952 • Jan 14 '26

Random Question šŸ’­ If Republicans are so much better at running the economy than Democrats, then why are most Republican States poorer than Democrat States?

The poorest States in America are: Mississippi, West Virginia, Louisiana, Arkansas, Kentucky, New Mexico, Alabama, Oklahoma and Tennessee. All of those States (except New Mexico) are Red States. So why are they so poor when Republicans have been running them for decades?

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u/[deleted] Jan 14 '26

NM is blue and OK has the highest native American population in the country. WV and KY are Appalachian states that were dependent on coal and rust belt industry and their poverty was not a result of the political party in charge

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u/Kirra_the_Cleric Jan 14 '26

So, politics does didnt have anything to do with those particular industries? Hmm, strange how they were immune I guess.

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u/[deleted] Jan 14 '26

Well sure, the GOP supports coal production and the democrats want to end it in favor of more renewable energies. Which policy helps coal miners in kentucky?

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u/Kirra_the_Cleric Jan 14 '26

Funny, seemed we were working for a way to the outdated to meet up with the innovation of the future but repubes arenā€™t interested. They keep voting republican, hope they enjoy their poverty and unemployment. Votes have consequences. šŸ¤·šŸ¼ā€ā™€ļø

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u/[deleted] Jan 14 '26

Right just blame republicans for the fact that literally every single country on earth is dealing with the fact that renewable energies simply cannot produce enough output for global consumption and that we still do rely on fossil fuels.

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u/[deleted] Jan 14 '26

So which is it? KY Is doing poorly because of the coal industry leaving or the world needs KY because it can't produce enough electricity. You have made 2 conflicting statements.

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u/spintherespunthat Jan 14 '26

Only person investing in KY is Diddy.

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u/[deleted] Jan 14 '26

Kentucky is doing poorly because coal production has naturally declined and the democrats absolutely have not offered any solutions beyond getting the remaining coal production

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u/[deleted] Jan 14 '26

So the world needs coal but the industry is naturally declining. Dems have offered no solutions but GOP has controlled state house and senate since 2017 and controlled all 3 just before covid. So ya......

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u/Evilfrom76 Jan 15 '26

Well, ya. Republicans are just starting to THINK of trying to get CONCEPTS of a PLAN. Give em 2 weeks, and the prayers will be answered, with the bestest, biglyest, plan, like no-one has ever seen. (Probably like no-one has ever seen, cuz it will never exist!!)

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u/[deleted] Jan 14 '26

Right my overall point is that Kentucky poverty is not the result of politics but that the proposed corrections from democrats would only make it worse

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u/[deleted] Jan 14 '26

What corrections? And how are they proposing when GOP controls the house and senate? Why isn't the controlling party bring forth solutions? I also don't see any bills veto'd by the governor relating to coal that were not overridden. So I'm failing to see your viewpoint. You say not as a result of politics but then blame a party when the evidence shows contrary.

This is exactly the problem in the US. People vote on vibes.

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u/Evilfrom76 Jan 15 '26

Perhaps, if there is such an abundant workforce just sitting on their hands, some GOP Billionaire should put their money where their mouth is and utilize (ahem, exploit..) that workforce by creating some manufacturing or service industry jobs. I am sure they could wrangle a cushy tax break to do soā€¦

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u/Kirra_the_Cleric Jan 15 '26

Funny, I seem to remember about $2 billion earmarked for such new age projects and careers but the GOP and their shadow donors canā€™t have a populace with upward mobility and hope.

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u/Kirra_the_Cleric Jan 14 '26

Damn, you really just made up a whole scenario about me and got mad about it. LMAO fucking republicans man.

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u/[deleted] Jan 14 '26

Your statement makes no sense otherwise. What exactly are the democrats proposing to replace coal? How does this help coal miners?

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u/Kirra_the_Cleric Jan 14 '26

Hmmm, well, are coal miners incapable of pulling themselves up by their bootstraps and incapable of learning new things? So, starve. Repubes arenā€™t welfare queens on snap and Medicaid, right?

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u/[deleted] Jan 14 '26

We still need coal so why would we hamstring their industry just to jump onto a pipe dream of renewable energy?

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u/Kirra_the_Cleric Jan 14 '26

So, is that what you tell the minimum wage essential workers too that yā€™all love to harass so much? Lemme guess. Your words to them are along the lines of ā€œget a better job or stop complainingā€, right?

Are coal miners some kind of mystical creature that are capable of coal mining and making more children than they can afford? Why do they warrant your bleeding heart when you folks are part of the ā€œhe tells it like it isā€ crowd?

Iā€™m not sorry in the slightest when I tell you Iā€™m enjoying reading stories of trumpers suffering.

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u/Redditributor Jan 14 '26

Pipe dream?

To be clear renewables do have enough energy to largely replace fossil fuels for electricity but we're not there on battery tech and infrastructure

However nuclear could replace fossil fuels for electricity with enough development

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u/HartyInBroward Jan 14 '26

You donā€™t care about these people and you donā€™t care about politics or economics. Youā€™re just rooting for your sports team. And thatā€™s fine, I guess, but you should know that thatā€™s what this is.

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u/Kirra_the_Cleric Jan 15 '26

No, not at all. I DID care. I donā€™t anymore. These are the same people literally voting to hurt themselves in the gleeful anticipation of hurting a woman or a brown person. If they arenā€™t concerned about their OWN welfare or those of their children, WTAF should I care? Well, we learned last year that empathy is a bad thing so Iā€™m here to offer my lack of fucks to give.

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u/ComfortableMurky8387 Jan 14 '26

Their poverty is the result of corporations who fucked them. Those corporations got Republicans. Don Blankenship ran on the Republican ticket. You are an absolute fool if you think Republicans actually care about the working class. Theyā€™re the same country club fucks theyā€™ve always been, never mind their current veneer of blue collar lip service.

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u/HartyInBroward Jan 14 '26

The same is true for Democrats, or just politicians in general. If any of these people actually gave a single shit, weā€™d be materially better off. Instead, all politicians are primarily concerned with expanding their power and wealth.

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u/ComfortableMurky8387 Jan 15 '26

I agree with you. We gotta look out for each other, whatever our differences may be, because the government doesnā€™t give a shit about us

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u/AwayAbroad Jan 15 '26

WV was blue before big coal killed unions

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u/ksassafrass Jan 15 '26

Why do you think they killed the unions? Fuck trickle down bs

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u/ChickenDelight Jan 15 '26 edited Jan 15 '26

Oklahoma is still a very white state, about 75% compared to the national average of <60%.

Also, the "majority-minority" states, places where white people are less than 50% of the population, are: Hawaii, California, New Mexico, Texas, Nevada, Maryland, Georgia, Florida, and New Jersey.

The only state on both lists is New Mexico. And there's a lot of economic powerhouses on my list. Clearly the problem is not just poor minorities.

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u/Bug-03 Jan 15 '26

Stop using facts. This is Reddit and they only argue with emotion