What is wrong with the American South, and why do they have such problems?

Question

They have the lowest rates of high school grads, the lowest rates of college grads. The lowest rates of Health Insurance coverage. And the Lowest levels of literacy in the whole country. They have the highest rates of abortion, crime, and poverty. How is it that they have the shame of all of this, all in one geographic location? What is wrong with the people of the south?

http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/p60-229.pdf
http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/cr_baeo.htm
http://www.ncaa.org/grad_rates/
http://www.statehealthfacts.org/comparemaptable.jsp?cat=10&ind=465
http://www.statehealthfacts.org/comparecat.jsp?cat=7

Answer 1

How about the inner city of Detroit? This makes the south look great. There is also a better quality of life in the South.

Answer 2

Well, as for education, try this. The Charlotte Mecklinburg (NC) School Systems budget for next year is 1.2 BILLION dollars. Yet only 46% of students graduate. Talk to the teachers and educators.

High abortion? And how is that Bush's problem? Liberals are the ones who want free on demand no age restriction abortions. You have made them to easy to get, and no social stigmatism attached to having bastard babies.

Crime? I would have a hard time with those numbers. Perhaps if we removed all the illegals...

Poverty, NC has an unemployment of well under 5%.

Perhaps the people of the South vote Republican because we see how the Democrat social experimentation of the 60's and 70's and 80's has screwed up our education, criminal justice and health care systems. We are trying hard to unscrew 30 years of Liberal meddling. I will say that I have little hope for our education system. It had gone too far to the dark side of Liberal Socialism and is run by total idiots.

Answer 3

At the heart, it's all about economics. There is not a lot of money here in the South. Hasn't been since the end of the cotton era. Poverty breeds religious fundamentalism/lack of proper education which leads to all the problems that you mentioned. There is nothing inherently wrong with the people of the South, they are coping with poverty the same as anyone else. Areas in the South populated by educated middle/upper class persons have less problems and areas in the North populated by lower income families have the same problems. It's not the result of geography.

Answer 4

I could name several things that has kept the south down since the civil war, one is up until the sixties the south was exempted from free trade by the nortnern states, they even had tariffs on raw material moving north from the south that was illegal under our constitution, but, our so called boys in black ruled it legal,
then the poorest of the north that could not make a living there came south and west to survive adding to the number of poor in the south, then the blacks who found the north was not as conducive to them as they were led to believe came running south so they could eat, so when they came back they brought all of their friends to the land of milk and honey,
the south has some of the most prestigious schools and colleges in the country, and many of the engineering etc students come her for their education,but, the average person in the south except blacks don't have access to many gov, freebies the north enjoys, also do I detect some prejudice in our surveys from our northern Nemesis?
since the north insisted on integration of our school system which ruined it because it set our schools back a good 50 years, but, now it has also screwed up the northern schools so no one in America is getting a quality education except the ultra rich who send their kids to private schools, so you see what gos around comes around.oh b.t,w, did the people who did this survey stop in Detroit N,Y,C, phillie, N,J, SLUMS OF BOSTON, or the new england states, ?
CFB great, I couldn't have said it better

Answer 5

Judging by how many educational and healthcare bills Bush shoots down and the fact that they're all red states, I'd say there's your answer. Not to mention these same reds love their cheap labor and welcome illegals with open arms, while red neck reds want to git out der guns and go hunt these said illegals. What a mess. It's like going back to prehistoric times. The Republi-businessmen they put into power are the same ones that hold them down. There's no money in education and healthcare for the people. There's lots of it by letting illegals in.

Detroit- most jobs in this city were related to the automotive market. The gas crisis Bush has caused destroyed these three one time huge corporations. Again, a red destroys an economy.

As for why people are leaving the north, it's more to do with baby boomers retiring and moving to warmer climates coupled with the insane housing costs up here because, as the poster who mentioned this topic's logic might put it, everyone wants to live here, creating a housing shortage and driving up prices. No one in their 20's can afford a house in New York, New Jersey or Massachusetts. They have no alternative, so they move to where the houses are dirt cheap. This drives your house's prices through the roof, only making it harder for you to afford one. Cheers!

Answer 6

Sorry I can't answer yoru question. As a Southerner living in Georgia, I have to hurry out and get an abortion for my wvfe, go rob the likor store, try and get my GED while working at my $5.25 an hour job. Wish I ahd teme to answer. sorry. Have a good dey! OH and sorry for the misssspeellingss!!

Answer 7

Actually, except for NYC, all the cities in the NE are losing population in the 10-25% annually...
And those finally getting out of the NE, move to the south.
Alas, an answer to your question....

Answer 8

I beg your pardon!!!
The main problem with the south is all the God damn Yankee scum that keep sneaking down here.

I would rather have 10 Mexicans living next door to me than one of you.

Now report me m()ther f()cker

Answer 9

Lowest rates of everything except for ONE thing: religious belief.
Coincidence? No. Religion is poison.

Answer 10

There's nothing wrong with me and my family so you should watch your stereotyping of "people of the South." Ignorance is a problem all over the world.