Why Academics Leftists and Elitists Need to Treat Ordinary Americans With Respect
- Thread starter nsacpi
- Start date
sturg33
I
I invite you to analyze a situation without deflecting to a different one.
When liberal self report that they are mentally ill and unhappy, I don't care about dental records of Alabama.
When college educated kids are about to elect a Marxist to run the most important city in the world, Indonesia care about the trailer parks of Oklahoma
I understand you are an academic. Thus, you have no curiosity or ability to analyze a situation. I feel bad for your students who are currently paying back student loans to be lectured by a political activist
nsacpi
Expects Yuge Games
The choices voters make are highly relevant to all sorts of outcomes: health, longevity, dental security, income, rates of suicide, violent crime, etc etc.
And the outcomes tend not to flatter voters in conservative parts of the country.
But they have their liberty.
It is revealing that Oklahoma has recently been bragging about being #1 in "educational freedom." I guess if you can't be good at the thang itself you can redefine success.
And the outcomes tend not to flatter voters in conservative parts of the country.
But they have their liberty.
It is revealing that Oklahoma has recently been bragging about being #1 in "educational freedom." I guess if you can't be good at the thang itself you can redefine success.
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Tapate50
Well-known member
Can set your watch to it.
nsacpi
Expects Yuge Games
I could pick on Arkansas or West Virginia instead if it makes you feel better. The point basically is outcomes are bad. Partly because of bad public policy. It isn't that teeth are inherently more prone to falling out in certain places. It doesn't have to be that way.
I will say, I have a hard time not wondering if the causal relationship is distorted a bit here. A lot of the outcomes in the blue vs. red state debate seemingly boil down to wealthy vs. poor states and I’m not fully confident the policies of the state are as much to blame or congratulate as proponents of those policies might believe.
nsacpi
Expects Yuge Games
Much of it boils down to poverty. But poverty is not immune to public policy. The rankings of poverty change over time. For example, in this country we had this long period of convergence between the South and the rest of the country. This is not too surprising. Convergence tends to happen when an area starts out behind, as the South did after the Civil War. In recent decades we see this divergence. A bit more surprising and difficult to explain. In 1950, life expectancy in Oklahoma was slightly ABOVE life expectancy in New York and California. Now it is more than 5 years below California and more than 6 years below New York. There is a pretty well-elaborated literature that looks at how public policy has diverged between red and blue states on matters such as public health policy and education. And that divergence in policy has produced much better outcomes for blue states.
That is not the entire story. There is an element of serendipity. Blue states have also benefited from technological change that has favored highly educated workers. It didn't have to be that way. Maybe in the future technological change will favor less well-educated workers. I wouldn't bet on it. But I suppose it is something for those who look with disfavor on a college education to hang their hats on.
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No, I know that. My question isn’t whether or not poverty can be influenced by public policy, it’s the responsiveness to it in relation to the overall national or global environment/economy. In general I question the extent to which we can properly isolate for this.
nsacpi
Expects Yuge Games
I'm not sure if I understand your point. But I think some of it comes down to culture. Some cultures are more open to adopting new ideas based on how they work in the real world. Other cultures evaluate new ideas through the lens of some prior received wisdom (often tied to ideological or religious beliefs). It is an interesting topic that helps us understand why for example the Scientific and Industrial Revolutions happened where they did rather than somewhere else. The insights from that analysis are probably relevant to some extent to explaining differences among countries and states today.
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My point touches on yours about culture, but it’s also that there’s a sudden interconnectedness of the global economy and political structures that I’m not sure is being properly accounted for in the analysis (and creation) of modern policies, and that extends to a lot of the social sciences.
nsacpi
Expects Yuge Games
Certainly supports your point about a college education being worse than useless.
sturg33
I
Sorry I was asking people on the board who can think and debate their ideas
You can ignore
Just calling someone an antisemite doesn’t make them an antisemite.
Tapate50
Well-known member
sturg33
I
They just just chose a Marxist to run their city. Skip college, kiddos. How do I buy stock in Florida?
Yes, it’s likely that the percentage of college-educated Democrats in New York City ranks among the highest in the country. Nationally, about 48% of Democrats have a four-year college degree, but urban, affluent areas like NYC, with its highly educated population, tend to skew this number higher. For comparison, cities like San Francisco, Seattle, and Boston also have high concentrations of college-educated Democrats, with estimates suggesting 50–60% or more of their Democratic voters hold college degrees, driven by professional and academic hubs.
NYC’s Manhattan and Brooklyn, in particular, have voter turnout and demographic profiles (e.g., 33.4% turnout in Manhattan’s 2021 primary and high education levels in areas like Park Slope) that suggest a college-educated Democratic share comparable to or exceeding these cities, potentially in the 50–55% range or higher. However, precise city-by-city comparisons are tough without specific 2025 data. NYC’s large, diverse population and status as a Democratic stronghold make it a standout, but it may not top smaller, hyper-educated cities like Cambridge, MA, where college-educated voters dominate even more.
If you want a deeper dive into specific cities for comparison, I can search for more data or focus on a particular region. Let me know!
Yes, it’s likely that the percentage of college-educated Democrats in New York City ranks among the highest in the country. Nationally, about 48% of Democrats have a four-year college degree, but urban, affluent areas like NYC, with its highly educated population, tend to skew this number higher. For comparison, cities like San Francisco, Seattle, and Boston also have high concentrations of college-educated Democrats, with estimates suggesting 50–60% or more of their Democratic voters hold college degrees, driven by professional and academic hubs.
NYC’s Manhattan and Brooklyn, in particular, have voter turnout and demographic profiles (e.g., 33.4% turnout in Manhattan’s 2021 primary and high education levels in areas like Park Slope) that suggest a college-educated Democratic share comparable to or exceeding these cities, potentially in the 50–55% range or higher. However, precise city-by-city comparisons are tough without specific 2025 data. NYC’s large, diverse population and status as a Democratic stronghold make it a standout, but it may not top smaller, hyper-educated cities like Cambridge, MA, where college-educated voters dominate even more.
If you want a deeper dive into specific cities for comparison, I can search for more data or focus on a particular region. Let me know!
