According to data compiled in a new study, 9 of the 10 least educated
states in America also voted Republican in the last presidential
election.
24/7 Wall St used
educational attainment data from the U.S. Census Bureau to rank all 50
states in terms of higher education level. The results were not
surprising to those who pay attention to our national discourse.
All ten of the most educated states in the United States voted for
President Obama in 2012. The ten most educated states were Minnesota,
New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Virginia, New Jersey, Connecticut,
Maryland, Colorado, Massachusetts. Only one of the ten least educated
states (Nevada) voted for President Obama in 2012.
The ten least educated states were:
10). Idaho
9). Indiana
8). Oklahoma
7). Alabama
6). Nevada
5). Louisiana
4). Kentucky
3). Arkansas
2). Mississippi
1). West Virginia
A state being on the least educated list does not mean that all of
the people who live there are not smart. Just as residing in a state is
one of the most educated does not make an entire population brilliant,
being on the least educated list doesn’t make everyone in a state dumb.
There are people of different educational levels in every state.
What the data does reveal is that the red and blue state divide is
that the political decisions made by voters have real cultural impacts.
Republican-misled states have adopted cutting taxes for the wealthy
and corporations while slashing education budgets as a standard policy.
In Louisiana, Jindal created a budget hole through tax cuts
for the wealthy that nearly wrecked the state’s university system. Cuts
to public education are usually one of the first orders of business
undertaken by newly elected Republican governors.
In a broader context, the Republican cabal has transitioned into the cabal of belief. Republicans have stopped relying on facts to support
their policies. There is a definite distrust of the public education
system. Republicans run their states based on a belief in wingnut
ideology, so it isn’t surprising that states that support a political cabal that has decided to create its own reality, have lower education
rates.
There are lots of Democrats in these red states but the policies that come
with electing anti-education politicians have real consequences. Red
states have lower percentages of educated people. The fact that these
states also support Republicans in presidential elections is not a
coincidence.
