Statistics show Southern states have the lowest economic mobility in the country. These phenomena help explain why

Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 01:22 PM EST
Steven Rosenfeld
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8 disturbing trends that reveal the South's battered psyche

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This article originally appeared on AlterNet.
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Across red-state America, especially in the Deep South, recent statistics-such as these Huffington Post graphics-show [link to the source for the link to the graphics] that the cycle of poverty, in its many manifestations, is unchanged and holding firm. Why is this?
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(Editor's note: This piece has been updated to credit some underlying source material published in the Huffington Post by Business Editor Emily Cohn.)
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It's easy to say this is how Republicans like to run states-cutting budgets, not raising the minimum wage, opposing labor unions. They let the poor and working class stew in their hardscrabble juices. Meanwhile, they distract voters by accusing liberals of waging war on the few sources of personal power in Southerners' difficult lives: their religious beliefs and owning guns. But go back several decades when segregationist Democrats ruled; for the most part, they weren't very different from today's Republicans.
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So what is it that perpetuates decades of poverty in the Deep South? What follows are eight bundles of statistics tracking this latest cycle of poverty. Could it be that people who historically have been treated badly, who have little money in their pockets but look to the sky and pray, expect less from others-including the public and private sector? Does that explain why red-staters cling to God, gun ownership and a "leave-me-alone" ferocity? They expect politicians to defend their values and their pride and little more?
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What's going on here isn't entirely political, even if it is used by red-state Republicans in their personal drive for power and influence. Look at what the following statistics reveal about red-staters trapped in deep cycles of poverty. What is the thread that connects lousy governance, bad health, evangelical religion and firearms fervor?
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1. Southern states have the most poor people.
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2. Deep South states have no minimum wage.
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3. Deep South has lowest economic mobility.
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4. South has lowest per capita spending sy state government.
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5. Forget about decent preventative healthcare.
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6. One result: people self-medicate in response.
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7. Forget the lottery, just pray to Jesus.
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8. And hold onto that gun!
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Breaking the Cycle?
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It's not that difficult to understand the dynamics of voters in the poorest states electing Republicans who share their religious values and love of guns-but who won't do much else to rebalance their state economies. Old habits are hard to break. If you are used to being treated poorly, that expectation can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If red-state voters demanded more from their politicians, their employers and the institutions that perpetuate poverty, the status quo would begin to unwind and start to shift. Until then, reams of statistics will keep finding that America's poorest regions are the same red states, run by white Republicans, and filled with people who have the blues.
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