| Only Montana is a surprise here, as the rest are southern states who have still not been able to completely shake the effects of Reconstruction and failure to integrate their minority populations equally (i.e. blacks were purposely kept poor for so long that it will take generations for them to reach parity with the rest of the population, similar to an immigrant group). The lack of specialized economies and, yes, unions (at least in the middle-class creating 1950s sense of hard work=good rewards) contributes to poor earnings. New York has many different industries (banking is only like 10% or less) that offer high wages, whereas Mississippi can only attract foreign car companies looking to beat the UAW. Infrastructure is also a problem in these states, as it is inadequate where existing. This does allow taxes to be lower than, say, New York, but is simply a symptom of their poverty, as the existence of extensive infrastructure requires higher taxes to maintain/ |
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