I agree. I think it is fair to say that Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg have more economical power than other states, and one would be churlish not to recognize

I agree. I think it is fair to say that Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg have more economical power than other states, and one would be churlish not to recognize that. But those other metrics he cites are chosen arbitrarily: - School Rankings. If you look for different criteria, e.g. the teacher-pupil ratio in elementary schools, it looks totally different. [1] And if you look at universities, different again [2]. If you look at the school quality (defined by ability to read and STEM subjects) the, east and north looks really good. [3] - Life expectancy: Come on... Men: Between the 4th and 11th place is just 1 year. Women: Between the 4th and 15th place is one year. [4] Furthermore I think the combination of this states is chosen rather poorly. Ask anyone in Leipzig or Kassel if they consider themselves to be from the south of Germany. No one would does that. [1]: http://www.insm-bildungsmonitor.de/2017_best_i_schueler-lehrer-relation-grundschulen.html http://www.insm-bildungsmonitor.de/2017_best_i_schueler-lehr... [2]: http://www.insm-bildungsmonitor.de/2017_best_i_betreuungsrelation-hochschule.html http://www.insm-bildungsmonitor.de/2017_best_i_betreuungsrel... [3]: http://www.insm-bildungsmonitor.de/2017_best_i_iqb-lesen-2015.html http://www.insm-bildungsmonitor.de/2017_best_i_iqb-lesen-201... [4]: http://www.lebenserwartung.info/index-Dateien/regdiff.htm http://www.lebenserwartung.info/index-Dateien/regdiff.htm