Big Government v. Smaller Government

I was searching for an article to post on another Facebook page I run about LGBTQ+ seniors, and an article in Newsweek caught my attention...

Louisiana, meanwhile, ranks as the worst state in the U.S. for senior care according to Retirement Living's analysis. As well as low-quality nursing facilities and high rates of preventable hospitalizations, researchers noted that the state's health care system has "some of the worst health outcomes in the country," a fact acknowledged in other analyses.

"The physical environment is another drawback for seniors in Louisiana. Air quality falls below average, while access to parks is limited throughout the state," researchers wrote. "Louisiana also has the second-worst drinking water in the U.S., which poses a significant health and safety risk for all residents, but particularly for seniors."

With the highest rates of both senior poverty and social isolation in the U.S., Mississippi comes in second last place, followed by West Virginia, the state with the worst senior health care access and the most preventable hospitalizations in the nation.

Is this the model of "less government" that the Republicans are pushing? If so I don't want it! Tell why would you want to move to a southern state?

Stop and think for a moment, the southern states are a poster child for the Republican dream of smaller governments and this is the results... do you like the results?

• Healthcare: They do not believe in public funding, so they have the highest uninsured rates and low life expectancy.
• Education: Less government spending on public education results in underperforming schools and low graduation rates.
• Taxes: Low or no income tax results in high reliance on sales taxes (regressive), underfunded services, and a dependence on federal funding.
• Labor: "Right to Work" states result in lower wages and fewer worker protections.
• Welfare/Safety Net: Shrinking the safety net results in persistent poverty, food insecurity, and reliance on SNAP, WIC, etc.

Education: there is a article in the Daily Talks Hub, "Back to School: The Least and Most Educated States in the US"

50th Place – Mississippi

Once again, the Magnolia State finds itself at the tail end of the American educational race. This isn’t a new view for it, as it’s often seen the back of the pack when it comes to schooling systems. But wait, there’s more! This educational rollercoaster doesn’t seem to have an end in sight, with the state’s academic woes continuing to pile up.

49th Place – West Virginia

In the wild and wonderful state of West Virginia, it’s not just the students who find themselves in a pickle, but the educators too. As reported by WBOY News, the trifecta of job pressures, meager salaries, and limited opportunities for advancement has created a revolving door, with teachers exiting as quickly as they entered. This teacher exodus is a conundrum that needs a solution, and fast!

48th Place – Louisiana

Imagine a gumbo pot of challenges that has Louisiana languishing near the bottom of the education league table. The state’s math skills are as murky as a bayou swamp, ranked the worst in the entire nation. Their reading competency isn’t much better, landing a dismal fourth from the bottom. Additionally, high school dropouts are as common as crawfish at a boil, with Louisiana boasting the fifth-highest rate in the country.

47th Place – Arkansas

Cracking the code behind Arkansas’s educational conundrum might seem like a tough nut to crack, but economists believe they’ve hit the bull’s eye. The state, often considered the underdog in the country’s wealth rankings, has an intimate tango with poverty. This dance of destitution, they argue, is the compelling ballad behind the state’s educational woes.

They care more about their sports teams then they do on education! Oh and where does Connecticut fall in the list?

5th Place – Connecticut

Hold on to your hats, folks! We’re now breaking into the top five, the crème de la crème of American education. Snagging the 5th spot is the charming state of Connecticut! Its impressive ranking is largely credited to its littlest learners, with a significant chunk of kiddos hitting the books from a tender age. That’s right, Connecticut is making sure its children start their educational journey early, and it’s clearly paying off!

Did you know that Connecticut is ahead of the curve when it comes to early education? While the national average for preschool attendance among 3 to 4-year-olds is a mere 47.7%, Connecticut is acing the test with a whopping 65.6% of kids in preschool! Not to mention, they’re also making the grade in kindergarten enrollments, boasting a sky-high rate of 80.7% – securing a bronze medal for the third highest in the entire nation!

Then their environment is polluted: less government oversight in Southern states has often meant more pollution and environmental degradation. The Mississippi River Chemical Corridor, (aka "Cancer Alley" in Louisiana it is an 85-mile stretch along the Mississippi River with over 150 petrochemical plants. where there is an extremely high cancer rates, a high rates of asthma, and respiratory illness.) where mega-corporations care more about the the bottom-line then the health and welfare of the people.

If this the future that the Republicans want for us? Are the southern states a model for the rest of the country? Where billionaires rack in the cash and the citizens live in poverty, riddle with diseases, and die young?

Lets go out and vote in November 2026 and vote Democrat. To keep from spiraling down to the lowest common denominator! 

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I have been getting pushback because I have been moiving away from trans issues!

But now with Trump, politics have become a trans issue. With all the attacks on us by the Republicans we need to defeat them in the elections. We need the voter turnout to overcome the Republicans gerrymandering! We need the voters to say enough is an enough.

When you talk to southern Republicans they see northern Democrats as attacking their way of life! They see it as an attack on their "Christian values" with all our LGBTQ+ stuff! They still are fighting the Civil War and Reconstruction!