The large parts of America left behind by today's economy

[JA]

Blue is prosperous, Orange is distressed
The large parts of America left behind by today's economy

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[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Don't worry! Give him a few years and Trumpot will bring the whole country down to the same level. (Except for the enclaves where he and his billionaire buddies live.)

[heatcharger]

This just seems like a map of where minorities (blacks, Hispanics, natives) and poor whites live. Sure, economic conditions in former manufacturing towns have gotten significantly worse in the last 30 years, but historically most of the the areas in dark red have always been less well-off and continue to have it much worse off than the heavily focused-on industrial North. I don't see any major revelations here.

[ProudModerate2]

I'm surprised that most of the south is in the "left behind" group, yet for some reason they believe (vote) the trump and the GOP is their savior.
trump and the GOP do nothing but protect the rich over the poor (wait until you see their final version of their new tax legislation).

[ProgressiveCanadian]

Obama sure helped Americans alright.

[America Needs R'hllor]

Obama sure helped Americans alright.

Millions of people with healthcare and millions of others who feel like their sexual orientations aren't a curse want to say hello. Also, sure, blame Obama for the fact that large parts of the U.S. are dependant on industries which just aren't feasible in a modernizing word.

[JA]

Obama sure helped Americans alright.

Millions of people with healthcare and millions of others who feel like their sexual orientations aren't a curse want to say hello. Also, sure, blame Obama for the fact that large parts of the U.S. are dependant on industries which just aren't feasible in a modernizing word.

While all of that is absolutely true, the fact remains that Obama, especially when he had a Democratic majority (and brief supermajority), did nothing to reshape the obviously faltering American economy to place it on a more sustainable long-term growth plan. His mediocre stimulus package, which was well under half of the funds required to make a substantive impact on the economy, was generally a failure. While it is certainly not solely his fault (also blame Congress, industries, governors, etc...), his lack of leadership and vision on that front cost millions of Americans their financial security and opportunity at upward mobility.

[Statilius the Epicurean]

I'm surprised that most of the south is in the "left behind" group, yet for some reason they believe (vote) the trump and the GOP is their savior.
trump and the GOP do nothing but protect the rich over the poor (wait until you see their final version of their new tax legislation).

Most of those areas in the south are black.

[dead0man]

People have always moved for economic opportunity.  It was hard for them, but they did it so they and their offspring could have a better future.  You can stay in a place with a sh**tty economy and bitch about it, or you can run your own life and better yourself.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

People have always moved for economic opportunity.  It was hard for them, but they did it so they and their offspring could have a better future.  You can stay in a place with a sh**tty economy and bitch about it, or you can run your own life and better yourself.

which is exactly the problem: all the people with education and ambition move on, and you're left with the elderly, the invalids, the addicts and, well, the less bright. But I feel it is immoral to leave people in squalor, even if it is partially a personal issue. Especially as the consequnce of people leaving can have a devastating feedback effect in regards to public services and local businesses.

[America Needs R'hllor]

Obama sure helped Americans alright.

Millions of people with healthcare and millions of others who feel like their sexual orientations aren't a curse want to say hello. Also, sure, blame Obama for the fact that large parts of the U.S. are dependant on industries which just aren't feasible in a modernizing word.

While all of that is absolutely true, the fact remains that Obama, especially when he had a Democratic majority (and brief supermajority), did nothing to reshape the obviously faltering American economy to place it on a more sustainable long-term growth plan. His mediocre stimulus package, which was well under half of the funds required to make a substantive impact on the economy, was generally a failure. While it is certainly not solely his fault (also blame Congress, industries, governors, etc...), his lack of leadership and vision on that front cost millions of Americans their financial security and opportunity at upward mobility.

Sure, Obama wasn't perfect, but his majorities didn't help much when a considerable part of them were conservative Democrats who made the passage of anything more than medicore pretty hard. For example, Lieberman's famous prevention of the public option.

[Nyvin]

I'm surprised that most of the south is in the "left behind" group, yet for some reason they believe (vote) the trump and the GOP is their savior.
trump and the GOP do nothing but protect the rich over the poor (wait until you see their final version of their new tax legislation).

Most of those areas in the south are black.

Pretty much the entire south is orange in that map other than the metro areas.  

[ProudModerate2]

I'm surprised that most of the south is in the "left behind" group, yet for some reason they believe (vote) the trump and the GOP is their savior.
trump and the GOP do nothing but protect the rich over the poor (wait until you see their final version of their new tax legislation).

Most of those areas in the south are black.

Pretty much the entire south is orange in that map other than the metro areas.  

Ah ... OK. That makes sense.
I guess the darker areas in places like Texas and New Mexico are more than likely heavy Hispanic districts.

[Nyvin]

Surprising to see Stockton CA classified as "distressed".   I didn't realize things were that bad there.

[Kamala]

What's going on in Putnam County, WV, and can we recreate it in the rest of WV?

[Mr. Smith]

Surprising to see Stockton CA classified as "distressed".   I didn't realize things were that bad there.

Yeah, most of California besides the Bay Area, LA, and the rugged but touristy areas Highway 1 runs down as a link are not in great shape [that landslide in Big Sur probably redefined the map for a bit].

Gotta admit, I'm surprised how well Iowa, Wyoming, and Nebraska are doing.

[DrScholl]

Not everywhere is going to be prosperous, that's just a harsh reality that can't be blamed on anyone.

[ProudModerate2]

What's going on in Putnam County, WV, and can we recreate it in the rest of WV?

That's probably where all the pharmacists have their mansions.

[SoLongAtlas]

It's very sad because some of those areas in orange/orange-red are very beautiful, peaceful areas. Buckingham County, Virginia is a great example of a nice, rural county but it has a lack of opportunity and over a fifth of the county is below the poverty line.

So basically a lot of people have to move to or commute elsewhere for work but deal with the downside of insane traffic, ja drivers, areas with more crime, etc. It is a duopoly that is playing out all over these states.

[Koharu]

What's going on in Putnam County, WV, and can we recreate it in the rest of WV?

From my time in West Virginia (I lived in Cabell county, and often was in Wayne county as well), Putnam seemed to be where the wealthy folks from both Huntington and Charleston congregated. They moved away from the squalor of Huntington especially, but Charleston also had struggles. It also generally seemed to be only more recently populated, so there wasn't the built in poverty of elders that Huntington had. So, I think it was that it wasn't highly populated during the boom and then bust of the Rust Belt, and those wealthy enough to escape the bust saw it as a great place to relocate to avoid the poverty but keep their jobs. But that's my completely uneducated guess. I also haven't lived in WV for over five years, and things have really gone downhill in Huntington since then, so there could be other factors that I'm unaware of.

After checking demographic info on Wikipedia, I think it backs up my theory. Putnam county has a total of 55k people in 2010: "The median income for a household in the county was $52,618 and the median income for a family was $63,642. Males had a median income of $51,837 versus $31,198 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,857. About 8.5% of families and 10.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.6% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over."

Whereas Cabell (which has eastern Huntington, as well as Barboursville, which is where the wealthy people went first to escape Huntington) has nearly double the population at 96k: "The median income for a household in the county was $34,492 and the median income for a family was $48,323. Males had a median income of $39,523 versus $28,952 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,907. About 15.3% of families and 20.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.0% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over."

And then we add in Kanawha county (where Charleston is), which has a population nearly double that of Cabell at 196k. Since its the capital, there's a lot of state jobs there, so things are a bit better than Cabell, but still not to Putnam's level: "The median income for a household in the county was $42,669 and the median income for a family was $54,203. Males had a median income of $42,522 versus $31,754 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,439. About 9.7% of families and 13.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.5% of those under age 18 and 8.3% of those age 65 or over."

So, yep, based on that information, I will stand by my supposition that the wealthy folks from Cabell, Wayne, and Kanawha counties have all fled to Putnam. The houses that I saw there were all much newer than the residences in the surrounding counties, and the population growth of Putnam reflects that, I believe.

[publicunofficial]

Most of the problems with the Democratic Party can be explained by the fact that nearly all of their media and political leaders live in that sea of teal between NoVA and Boston, or the other sea of teal in Silicon Valley.

[Mr. Reactionary]

Most of the problems with the Democratic Party can be explained by the fact that nearly all of their media and political leaders live in that sea of teal between NoVA and Boston, or the other sea of teal in Silicon Valley.

[heatcharger]

Yeah, Democrats should go back to the glory days when their leaders came from Real America like Tom Daschle and Dick Gephardt.

[Nyvin]

Most of the problems with the Democratic Party can be explained by the fact that nearly all of their media and political leaders live in that sea of teal between NoVA and Boston, or the other sea of teal in Silicon Valley.

Jim Clyburn doesn't come from that area.   

[publicunofficial]

Most of the problems with the Democratic Party can be explained by the fact that nearly all of their media and political leaders live in that sea of teal between NoVA and Boston, or the other sea of teal in Silicon Valley.

Jim Clyburn doesn't come from that area.   

I don't think Jim Clyburn has a ton of influence over anything.