If Republican policies work, why are red states poorer?
Republican politicians campaign on the idea that government doesn’t work and then prove it by governing badly.
Before we get into it: if you’re receiving this via email, thank you. You’re already subscribed. If you’re not, now is the time.
Last week on the show, I made the case that if New England and New York decided to form their own country, it would instantly rank among the richest and most successful nations on Earth. The reason is simple: blue states subsidize red ones. But we need to dig deeper into that reality; not just that red states depend on blue states, but that they are falling further behind, and it’s not an accident.
It’s policy: predictable, measurable, and entirely self-inflicted.
The Red State Paradox
Look at the poorest states in America: Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, West Virginia, and Kentucky. Every one of them is solidly Republican. Every one of them is getting poorer.
Meanwhile, the richest states — Massachusetts, New York, California, Connecticut, and Minnesota — all lean Democratic. They have higher minimum wages, stronger worker protections, and better-funded schools. They also invest more in public health, infrastructure, and social safety nets. And the results speak for themselves.
Republicans keep promising to “turn things around,” but the data tells a different story. When conservative states lower taxes for the wealthy, cut social programs, and gut education funding, their economies don’t grow. Instead, they stagnate.
Lessons They Refuse to Learn
The Kansas experiment is a perfect example. Lawmakers slashed taxes, promising an economic boom that never came. The state’s finances collapsed, schools shut down early, roads fell into disrepair, and even Republican legislators eventually reversed the policy. Yet other states like Mississippi and Oklahoma keep repeating the same mistakes.
Mississippi, one of the poorest states in the country, recently pushed through tax cuts for the rich. The result? Fewer resources for schools and hospitals, while the wealthy and corporations keep their breaks. Rejecting the Medicaid expansion has also accelerated rural hospital closures, leaving entire regions without basic healthcare access.
And somehow, the politicians responsible keep getting reelected.
The Irony of The Bailout
What keeps these states afloat is not their own policy success but federal money, much of it generated by blue states. California and New York send far more tax revenue to Washington than they receive, while red states like Mississippi and West Virginia take in far more than they pay out.
That’s the irony: the so-called “fiscally conservative” states depend heavily on the ones they mock as “socialist.” Without the federal redistribution funded by blue states, large parts of the South and Midwest would collapse under the weight of their own mismanagement.
Then there’s the brain drain. Educated young people from red states leave for opportunities in blue states, where wages are higher, rights are stronger, and quality of life is better. Republicans like to talk about “coastal elites,” but the truth is that their own policies keep driving talent and investment away.
The Evidence They Ignore
Around the world, the same pattern holds. Countries like Denmark, Sweden, and Norway were all built on socially democratic policies and consistently rank highest in prosperity, happiness, and health outcomes. They have universal healthcare, strong education systems, and robust worker protections. Far from being “socialist hellholes,” they are thriving capitalist democracies.
The American states that most resemble those systems like Massachusetts, Connecticut, Minnesota, are also among the most prosperous. Higher life expectancy, better education, higher incomes, stronger infrastructure. The formula works, and it’s not a mystery.
Invest in education, healthcare, and infrastructure, and people do better. Cut taxes for the rich, starve public services, and the state suffers. Yet election after election, many red states keep choosing the same failing model, convinced that this time, it will somehow work.
A Self-Inflicted Struggle
Republican politicians campaign on the idea that government doesn’t work and then prove it by governing badly. They sabotage education, reject federal funding, weaken worker protections, and then point to the resulting dysfunction as evidence that “big government” is the problem.
Meanwhile, the data remains clear: blue states and social democracies deliver higher living standards and better outcomes across the board. Red states, by contrast, keep falling further behind. And not because of bad luck or culture, but because of the policies they continue to vote for.
The question is simple: will they ever learn?
I recently discussed this topic with political activist Jess Piper in a Substack Live. Jess lives in rural Missouri and ran for office herself in 2022. She expressed that one of the key reasons rural areas continue to “vote against their own self-interests” is that oftentimes there isn’t even a Democrat on the ballot. She spoke to the reasons why that happens and how progressive activists are working to gain back momentum in red states. You can watch that full conversation here.
We’re reaching over 150 million people every month across YouTube, podcasts, Substack, and beyond. But algorithms can change. Platforms can fold. And when that happens, this newsletter is how we stay connected.
If you’re not yet a paid subscriber, please consider joining.
If you’re already paid on one platform, consider supporting us on both Substack and our website.
You can subscribe on our website and right here on Substack.
And if you’re really on fire, consider gifting a subscription—we’ve got thousands on our waiting list ready to read, watch, and fight back.
Let’s keep building.
—David
PS: Can’t contribute right now? No problem. You can support us for free by subscribing on YouTube, listening to our audio podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, or become a free subscriber to this very Substack. Every bit counts.
Absolutely brilliant commentary! In one piece you summarized the perfect paradox of red States and blue States in a way that I couldn't even have thought of. But ironically, if you look at it it goes even deeper and there's another point you could easily make if you wished. It's a simple common sense logic that goes right back to the founding of America, and the most basic fundamental principle of how our system works. The blue States use the system of relying on each other and Community as a way to build success wealth and prosperity. Red States rely on the notion of individualism and the self-made man myth. However they showed time and time again that no one is truly self-made, and it's not possible to succeed without the help of others. Their entire definition of socialism is based on the idea of working together and working for the good of the community, rather than working for yourself. This is the fundamental flaw of red States, sir.
1. Red states are structurally poor and have been so long before modern politics.
2. Republican economic strategies hit a ceiling in these rural environments.
3. Real improvement requires long-term investment, not slogans, and usually a mix of progressive social policy and targeted conservative economic development. Something the Republicans always vote down.