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Top political books of 2011 – The Arena | POLITICO.COM

www.politico.com11/24/11

… of obesity, incarceration, homicide, mental illness, drug addiction, infant mortality, teenage pregnancy, illiteracy, and low rates of social mobility, trust and life expectancy. The U.S., tragically, has some of the highest rates of …

Obesity, Drug Abuse Biggest Problems in US Youth

www.inquisitr.com8/16/11

“The perception of drug abuse as a big problem matches recent national data showing increasing use of marijuana and other drugs by US teens. Meanwhile, although obesity remains atop the list of child health concerns for …

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I just came across the following map and stats, and whilst I found the whole thing interesting, I wondered if it was really accurate.

So I just spent a couple of hours checking out the sources, and as far as I could see, everything is 100% accurate.

 

The majority of the stats were taken from either:

America’s Health Rankings

or The US Census Bureau

And if they weren’t, then an alternative source is quoted.

So Here They Are

1. Alabama: highest rate of stroke (3.8 percent) (tied with Oklahoma).

2. Alaska: highest suicide rate (23.6 suicides per 100,000 people in 2004).

3. Arizona: highest rate of alcoholism.

4. Arkansas: worst average credit score (636) – TalkBusiness

5. California: most air pollution (15.2 micrograms per cubic meter).

6. Colorado: highest rate of cocaine use per capita (3.9 percent total population).

7. Connecticut: highest rate of breast cancer – State Health Facts

8. Delaware: highest abortion rate (27 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44).

9. Florida: highest rate of identity theft (122.3 reports per 100,000 people).

10. Georgia: sickly based on highest rate of influenza.

11. Hawaii –highest cost of living (tied with California) CNBC States With The Highest Cost Of Living

12. Idaho – lowest level of Congressional clout – NewWest

13. Illinois: highest rate of robbery (284.7 incidences per 100,000 people).

14. Indiana: rated the most environmentally unfriendly by NMI solutions – Environmental Leader

15. Iowa: highest percentage of people age 85 and older (1.8 percent) (tied with three other states) StateMaster

16. Kansas: poorest health based on highest average number of limited activity days per month (3.5 days) StateMaster

17. Kentucky: most cancer deaths (227 per 100,000 people), and Kentucky also has the highest rate of tobacco smokers – 25.6 percent).

18. Louisiana: highest rate of gonorrhea (264.4 reported cases per 100,000 people) StateMaster

19. Maine: dumbest state claim based on lowest average SAT score (1389) Commonwealth Foundation

20. Maryland: highest rate of AIDS diagnosis (27.6 people per 100,000 people) Avert.org

21. Massachusetts: worst drivers claim based on highest rate of auto accidents The Auto Channel

22. Michigan: highest unemployment rate (13.6 percent).

23. Minnesota: highest number of reported tornadoes (123 in 2010) Woodbury kstp

24. Mississippi: highest rate of obesity (35.3 percent of total population).

* Mississippi ranks last in the most number of categories.

Including the highest rate of child poverty (31.9 percent), highest rate of infant mortality (10.3 percent).

Lowest median household income ($35,078).

Highest teen birth rate (71.9 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 19).

And highest overall rate of STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases).

25. Missouri: highest rate of bankruptcy (700 out of every 100,000 people) BSC Alliance

26. Montana: highest rate of drunk driving deaths (1.12 deaths per 100 million miles driven) HelenAir

27. Nebraska: highest rate of women murdered annually.

28. Nevada: highest rate violent crime (702.2 offenses per 100,000 people)and Nevada also has the highest rate of foreclosure (one in 99 houses).

29. New Hampshire: highest rate of corporate taxes New Hampshire Watchdog

: the link went dead. So what’s NH bottom at? Email me!

30. New Jersey: highest rate of citizen taxation (11.8 percent) The Retirement Living Information Center

31. New Mexico: antisocial claim based on lowest ranking in social heath policies Los Alimos Study Group

32. New York: longest average daily commute (30.6 minutes) StateMaster

33. North Carolina: lowest average teacher salary Facing South

34. North Dakota: ranked last in ugliest residents report as chosen by The Daily Beast

35. Ohio: nerdiest state claim based on highest number of library visits per capita (6.9) StateMaster

36. Oklahoma: highest rate of female incarceration.

37. Oregon: highest rate of long-term homeless people.

38. Pennsylvania: highest rate of arson deaths (55.56 annually) StateMaster

39. Rhode Island: highest rate of illicit drug use (12.5 percent of population) EconomicMix

40. South Carolina: highest percentage of mobile homes (18.8 percent) StateMaster

41. South Dakota: highest rate of forcible rape 76.5 per 100,000.

42. Tennessee: chosen most corrupt state by The Daily Beast

43. Texas: lowest high school graduation rate (78.3 percent) Statemaster

44. Utah: highest rate of of on-line porn subscriptions Desert News

45. Vermont: infertility claim based on lowest birth rate of any state (10.6 births per 1,000) (tied with Maine) StateMaster

46. Virginia: highest number of alcohol-related motorcycle deaths The Virginia Biker

47. Washington: most cases of bestiality (4 reported in 2010) Pet-Abuse

48. West Virginia: highest rate of heart attack (6.5 percent of population).

49. Wisconsin: highest rate of binge drinking (23.2 percent of population).

50. Wyoming: highest rate of deadly car crashes (24.6 deaths per 100,000) AutoInsuranceQuotealer

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The bottom line is, if you do find any errors then please let me know and I’ll make the updates.

The American consumer cut back so much during the last quarter of 2008, that two recent reports showing that a slight leveling off had occurred in February and March caused many supposed economic pundits to suggest that a bottoming out had occurred and that it was possible to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

The cause for such jubilation?

The Commerce Department announced a rise of 0.2% in consumer spending in February, and the University of Michigan’s index of consumer confidence edged up slightly in March, whilst remaining at near historic lows.

Richard T. Curtin, who has run the University of Michigan survey for decades, said in a just published report, “The good news is that the free fall in confidence has ended. The bad news is that consumers expect their financial situation to remain dismal for the rest of 2009″.

Not only were the increases miniscule, but there were obvious reasons for them. Spending was higher due to higher gasoline prices, and the fact that personal income fell by 0.2% in February got scant attention, even though it most likely means that consumers will have to cut back even further on purchases.

House prices are still falling, the stock market is way down for the year and unemployment continues to rise, but there are a number of economists who believe that consumers who are still delaying the purchase of major items such as a house, a car, or new appliances will soon be forced into buying them, which will in turn create a bounce in the broader economy.

It is totally unclear to me however why the consumer will suddenly feel that he must buy a new car, a new house or a new appliance etc. and I would strongly agree with Howard Davidowitz, who is the chairman of the retail consultancy Davidowitz & Associates who said, “When you’ve got exploding job losses like we have, how would that lead to any improvement in consumer spending? If you don’t have jobs, you cannot possibly have a change in psychology”.

Perhaps ironically, if the consumer’s confidence and appetite do grow, it could well create new problems because the purchasing of big-ticket items in large numbers could create a snap-back in gross domestic product, followed by another recession because of business conditions that are still extremely weak, companies that are still not investing, and weakness in the rest of the world’s economies.

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