Abstract
If you can remember the 2000 U.S.A politics, then the references red and blue states are not new to you! According to Cummings (2008, p. 4), the blue state inclined towards Democratic candidates and policies while the red state inclined towards Republican Party policies sand candidates. Consequently, this paper will compare the socioeconomic environments of both states, to evaluate, which of the states facilitated a better society based on its philosophies and policies. The analysis shall as well reference both the information and statistics of levels of education, religious views, tax collection, divorce rates crime, and income statistics. The analysis transcends in making the most of credible sources of information.
Introduction
In 2000, the red and blue colors featured predominantly in the U.S general election. This was subsequent to the development of blue and red states, which described preference for Democratic and Republican Party candidates and policies respectively. In the American politics in the same year the journalists and analysis’s employed the both colors to illustrate the voting patterns among the country’s states.
Again according to Cummings (2008, p 4-5), different countries have as well employed the red and blue colors to describe the left and right wings. While the left wing represents the politics and social democratic philosophies, the right wing describes the conservative governance and social philosophies. On the other hand, the red and blue colors in the U.S politics compared different states based on the governance policies and social control of their citizens and resources subsequent to different policies in the Republic and Democratic Party policies. These differences were consequent to different social concepts based on the significance and solution patterns for various environmental predicaments.
According to Gizzi et al (2007, p 227-228), both the Republican and Democratic Parties addressed different economic and sociopolitical issues with diverse strategies and policies. Some of these strategies included the application of government resources and authority in different approaches depending on the state, to address the predicaments and facilitate desired solutions. The application depended on the decision makers, the conceptions, and interpretations of both parties. The differences in both parties based on the interpretation and conceptions, of the economic and sociopolitical and economic predicaments caused the differences in their policies and strategies in addressing such predicaments. Again, the difference in environments and circumstances of both parties contributed to the diversities in addressing the challenges.
For the purpose of establishing the efficacy of the policies employed, the following is a comparison of the red and blue states based on the crime rates and prevalence, levels of education, prevalence, religious views, income statistics, divorce, tax collection and other statistics.
Comparison of the effectiveness of Red and Blue State Policies
According to Gizzi et al (2007, p. 227-230), some of the valid measurement tools for efficacy of state policies include divorce statistics, occurrences of crime, income and poverty levels, religious values, tax collection and usage patterns, and education levels. This is subsequent to the fact that they are a reflection of the level of success of the society based on its strategies and policies to enhance the development of both the political environments. The levels of effectiveness of policies employed to facilitate or enhance the development of desirable political and socioeconomic environments are directly proportional to the levels of success of the society. As such, undesirable socioeconomic and political environments are subsequent to inefficiency and failed policies based on curbing respective limits. U.S is attributed to high levels of crime, which point out to ineffective policies and strategies from responsible authorities to curb respective limits. Subsequently, there are high levels of crime in the U.S are coupled with low levels of success as regards to the policies and approaches to address the challenges. This is subsequently the foundation of employing statics based on income distribution and poverty levels, divorce, religion views, education levels, and religion views, among others, to evaluate the efficacy of the red and blue states based on the polices of the U.S government. Studies in the U.S high level of liberalism in a state is attributed to high levels of family values, which is coupled with low levels of divorces. Some of those states include Massachusetts, which presents low levels of divorce and teenage childbirths. This is according to FVRB (2010, para.1-4).
Besides, according to Goldstein (2005, “Red v Blue” Tables), the occurrence of low levels of divorce in blue states in the U.S is made manifest in rates of divorce per 1000. For instance, the level of divorce per 1000 is 2.4 in Massachusetts, in Connecticut; it was 2.9 and 3.0 in Maryland, which are blue states. On the other hand, the red states recorded rates of divorce per 1000 at 2.6 in Montana, 3.4 in Oklahoma, and 4.2 in Arizona. As a rule, there were lower rates of divorce as compared to the red states. Based on the infant mortality rate, the blue states occupied the best positions with the red states occupying the bigger predicaments. In a ranking based on infant mortality rates per 1000 healthy births, the blue states occupied the most positions 8, in the top 12, as opposed to the red states, which occupied the lower positions in the ranking. Nevertheless, Delaware, which is a blue state, occupied the lowest position. The blue states occupy the best 7 and 9 positions out of 13, as opposed to the red positions that occupy 13 of the worst 14 positions. This is according to a research based on poverty and income levels among the states in the U.S. New York, which occupies the 11th worst positions, is the only blue state in this region. Nevertheless, the distribution of crime in both the red and blue states within the U.S society is equitable. The system of ranking is nevertheless is dependent on various predicaments based on accuracy and effective reflection of limits subject to such predicaments such as low reportage.
According to a study based on energy efficiency in the U.S, there was a trend of environmental safety coupled with energy efficiency among the blue states. The blues states found themselves in the top ten positions, in a survey done by a U.S council based on energy efficiency. The blue states included Vermont, Oregon, Connecticut, New York, Maine, Rhode Island, California, Minnesota, Washington, and Massachusetts. On the other hand, the red states which included North Dakota, Wyoming, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, West Virginia and Kansas, , occupied the worst positions. Nevertheless, a few red states occupied top half of the Council’s ranking. For example, Utah occupied the, at 12th position while Nevada occupied the 19th position. According to Kaufman, the above results are credible in evaluating the effectiveness for red and blue states based on the fact that, red states have been for over the three previous electoral processes, been persistent in their voting. According to Kaufman (2010, para. 1-8), Democratic Party policies had a higher level of efficiency in facilitating energy in both the economic and industrial activities. The results are evidence that it is states under the republican governance and policies consumed higher energy per capita in comparison with those under Democratic governance and policies. Blue states recorded higher level of education and academic success as oppose to the red states. This is based on the numbers of individuals with higher college and university credentials. This has consequently been attributed to the high levels of productivity in the blue states. The infrastructural growth in the states’ governments is attributed to high levels of tax income. According to RSBSS (2008, p. 2), a survey that preceded the 2008 presidential elections found that red states featured lower levels of college graduates as compared to the blue states. This was by an average of 5.6%. Again, the survey discovered that while the red states recorded 24%, while the blue states recorded 29.6%. This was a pointer to the high level of effectiveness of policies and strategies based on college education in the blue states as opposed to the red states.
Another aspect of evaluating economical and sociopolitical environments was the religious views. The survey prior to the 2008 election discovered a high occurrence of evangelical life in the red states as compared to the blue states. The red states recorded a rate of 29.9% while the blue states recorded a rate of 19.5%, subsequ5ently representing a difference of 10.4% in religion patterns between the two states. In addition, the survey evaluated the levels of intelligence eminent in the U.S states. The analysis employed “Ravens Intelligence Quotient Data” and “McDaniel’s Data” data systems. This is according to RSBSS (2008, p.2). While the Ravens systems presented a difference of 11 points, the McDaniel’s Data system presented a difference of 1.5 points.
Another subject of research was the occurrence of ownership of guns and crime among individual sets of states. As compared to the red states, the level of ownership of guns was higher in the blue states. Over 20 red states, out of the 29, they recorded a 40% occurrence of gun ownership, which represented an average rate of 44.4%. On the other hand, 4 out of the 21 blue states presented more than 40% occurrence of gun ownerships. These states included Minnesota, Maine, Vermont, and Wisconsin. The gun ownership in the blue states had been 27.3%, which was a difference of 17.1%: a significant difference. This is according to RSBSS (2008, p. 2-3).
The ownership of guns enhanced crime and social violence in the U.S society. This was pointed to less strict laws and regulations that governing the ownership of guns and infrastructure in red states.
Another subject that constituted for the survey of the 21 blue and 29 red states was the income levels. The survey measured the aspect among the states by working out the average individuals incomes per annum. This excise presented observations of levels of average individuals’ income per annum. Production activities by the state’s population yielded $34,202 for the red states. On the other hand, the production activities yielded an amount of $ 41,183 in the blue states. Subsequently, the two states represented an average difference of $6, 982 in individual income per annum. The red states attributed to high levels of average individual income, which pointed to advanced technology, toil, gambling, and productive mining for different states. The red states included Nevada, Alaska, Wyoming, and Colorado. On the other hand, the blue states, which included Michigan, Maine, Oregon, and Vermont, were attributed to low levels of average individual income. This is according to RSBSS (2008, p.2-3). For the remaining states presented in both sets of states, the difference between average individual income remained evidently high.
According to Blumer (2008, Para. 1-4), the ineffective and incompetent environments in the blue states pointed to the social and political policies which subsequently did not have the capacity to withstand economic crises. This became eminent in the aftermath of the 2007-208 financial crises. One of the key roles of socioeconomic and political infrastructure within a state is to facilitate the strength and stability of predominant institutions during economic and financial crises. The stability of infrastructure includes the capacity to uphold the employees during crises, capacity to invent strategies and policies that facilitates an increase in economic growth and productivity, and finally, the ability to massive damages and losses to the company. Consequently, there is dire need for state governments and governance infrastructure to develop the ability and aspiration to invent and implement decisions influencing the sociopolitical and economic environments occurrences during crises. This will subsequently boost economic growth and productivity with efficiency. It is for the reason that the policies of blue states lack such capacity and resources, which leads to negative economic outcomes and extended crises in the states. On the other hand, the policies of red states enhance the development of alternative and effective policies during economic and financial crises. As such, the red states are capacitated to faster recoveries from crises, coupled with welfare for citizens and industries more effectively as compared to the blue states.
Conclusion
As compared to the red states, the blue states had government policies, approaches, infrastructure, and devices that enhanced the development and upholding of an environment that was favorable for the welfare of citizens based on socioeconomic, with a more effective approach. This is eminent in the survey results presented in the above study, which shows tendencies of poverty, crime, education, health, and income levels. The analysis shows better results for the blue states as compared to the red states, based on socioeconomic aspects. Lower levels of infant mortality rates, gun ownership, social violence, and higher levels of college graduations, income per annum, and higher taxation income for the government hence characterize the blue states. Surveys in divorce and energy efficiency in the U.S pointed to better results for the blue states. Nevertheless, this was only eminent in the absence of financial and economic crises. On the other hand, the red states had governance infrastructure, policies, and mechanisms that capacitated the development of alternative policies during economic and financial crises with a more efficient and faster approach as compared to the blue states. As such, the red states indicated the capacity to uphold economic growth and stability with a more effective and faster approach as compared to the blue states. Nevertheless, the blue states are more successful in promoting the socioeconomic welfare for citizens via the creation of effective policies and social economic environments as compared to the red states. On the other hand, the red states are more successful in enhancing strength, economic stability and recovery during economic crises.
References
Blumer, T. (2008). Red States versus Blue State Economics. The New York Post Features, retrieved on May 2, 2011 from:http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/item_YFKrwy7MZgtydwoLP3UkRL;jsessionid=5A2E843A5AE1A0AEB5F414538293348D