To the editor:
While your article was certainly salient, does anyone notice that the poorest counties in the country are in solidly red states? (“By drawing 50 'states' according to income, study reveals 'developing countries' within the U.S.,” Nov. 17)
Trickle-down economics has been a disaster for these states, yet the people return Republicans to power there time and time again. The blue states inevitably shoulder the burden to prop these states up through taxes sent to the federal government where they then only marginally make their way to the red states due to conservative state governments’ shredding of the social safety net.
Democrats need to improve their messaging if they ever hope to regain majorities in government; otherwise the divide in quality of life between the states will only grow. One only need look at the economies of Kansas and Mississippi versus California and New York as two examples.
Mike Aguilar, Costa Mesa
Note from KBJ: Good try, Mike. People aren't poor because they vote Republican; they vote Republican because they're poor and want a better life. All Democrats have to offer is equally distributed misery.
