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One thing people outside the US may not realize about studies like this is that a very large percentage of socioeconomic breakdowns in the US are proxies for th

One thing people outside the US may not realize about studies like this is that a very large percentage of socioeconomic breakdowns in the US are proxies for the traditional north-south civil war divide. Compare a map of income inequality by state and overlay the 1860 election and you'll be looking at extremely similar maps. So, to a large degree, this study is merely saying that upper income people in the US South are less generous than upper income people elsewhere in the country, something that isn't a surprise to anybody to anybody who even remotely follows US political trends. http://visualizingeconomics.com/blog/2007/07/17/united-states-income-inequality-map http://visualizingeconomics.com/blog/2007/07/17/united-state... of income inequality by state

wozniacki 11y ago
Do you see this mismatch in "generosity" in the American south versus the rest of the nation correcting itself anytime soon, whether through a change in demographics or whether through the changing tide of policies as a result of more & more progressive administrations in the coming years? It is generally agreed by political commentators that we are in the midst of a sweeping progressive political regime which is expected to last at least for another decade if not more. Or do you see the southern states further entrenching themselves in their ways, digging in their heels in these and other social upliftment areas?
- cjslep 11y ago
  > It is generally agreed by political commentators that we are in the midst of a sweeping progressive political regime which is expected to last at least for another decade if not more. Which southern State Legislature(s) and/or Governors are these political commentators discussing? North Carolina's State Legislature under McCrory has been appallingly embarassing, and with Thom Tillis ousting Kay Hagan it has felt like the Good Ol' Boy's club all over again.
  - wozniacki 11y ago
    ... a sweeping progressive political regime which is expected to last at least for another decade if not more. I should have added, nationally not regionally in the south.
didgeoridoo 11y ago
Aren't NY, CT, MA, and DC the most unequal parts of the US? All "Union"? I don't think your explanation is convincing.
- carboncopy 11y ago
  In the above map, those areas are not marked with the "unequal" color, can you share your source as a counterpoint? Edit: the arstechnica article states DC is the most unequal place in the U.S. It appears there is a disparity between the two sources.
  - didgeoridoo 11y ago
    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_Gini_coefficient https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_Gini_... That map is by county, while most inequality in the US is concentrated in the cities; the most important drivers of state-level inequality are thus hidden. It is not a very good map for this purpose.
    - carboncopy 11y ago
      Indeed, though your map is even lower resolution than the previous one. I can agree that neither map tells the whole story, and the GP's premise is strained at best.
vlehto 11y ago
The black belt is striking in that map. https://www.google.fi/search?q=u.s.+black+belt&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiLkNjvsrTJAhUGWywKHZdlCfAQsAQILA&biw=1273&bih=920 https://www.google.fi/search?q=u.s.+black+belt&tbm=isch&tbo=...

wozniacki 11y ago

Do you see this mismatch in "generosity" in the American south versus the rest of the nation correcting itself anytime soon, whether through a change in demographics or whether through the changing tide of policies as a result of more & more progressive administrations in the coming years? It is generally agreed by political commentators that we are in the midst of a sweeping progressive political regime which is expected to last at least for another decade if not more. Or do you see the southern states further entrenching themselves in their ways, digging in their heels in these and other social upliftment areas?

cjslep 11y ago
> It is generally agreed by political commentators that we are in the midst of a sweeping progressive political regime which is expected to last at least for another decade if not more. Which southern State Legislature(s) and/or Governors are these political commentators discussing? North Carolina's State Legislature under McCrory has been appallingly embarassing, and with Thom Tillis ousting Kay Hagan it has felt like the Good Ol' Boy's club all over again.
- wozniacki 11y ago
  ... a sweeping progressive political regime which is expected to last at least for another decade if not more. I should have added, nationally not regionally in the south.

didgeoridoo 11y ago

Aren't NY, CT, MA, and DC the most unequal parts of the US? All "Union"? I don't think your explanation is convincing.

carboncopy 11y ago
In the above map, those areas are not marked with the "unequal" color, can you share your source as a counterpoint? Edit: the arstechnica article states DC is the most unequal place in the U.S. It appears there is a disparity between the two sources.
- didgeoridoo 11y ago
  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_Gini_coefficient https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_Gini_... That map is by county, while most inequality in the US is concentrated in the cities; the most important drivers of state-level inequality are thus hidden. It is not a very good map for this purpose.
  - carboncopy 11y ago
    Indeed, though your map is even lower resolution than the previous one. I can agree that neither map tells the whole story, and the GP's premise is strained at best.

vlehto 11y ago

The black belt is striking in that map. https://www.google.fi/search?q=u.s.+black+belt&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiLkNjvsrTJAhUGWywKHZdlCfAQsAQILA&biw=1273&bih=920 https://www.google.fi/search?q=u.s.+black+belt&tbm=isch&tbo=...