Agreed Portugal is one of the poorer countries in Western Europe and Croatia is in Eastern Europe and, whilst its one of the more developed countries in Eastern Europe, it’s still Eastern Europe...
I have some problems with HDI, and I don't recommend anyone take these kinds of measurements as gospel, but Portugal is one of the poorer countries in Western Europe, and and average quality of life is high across America. I'd rather live in Portugal personally but that's because I don't mind the lifestyle.
The same states that rank at the bottom of HDI today would have ranked near the bottom 100 years ago as well. Initial conditions explain the difference, not partisan political squabbles.
It's because of racial discrimination. Black people make a lot less than white people. These southern states have a higher percentage of black people than the other ones.
I read somewhere recently - perhaps it was one of those "interesting facts" on this website? - that in Britain, people with Norman surnames are on average 10% richer than the rest of us. The passing of a thousand years hasn't eradicated that particular inequality. Compared to that, one century ago is the recent past.
The GOP has been specializing in getting rural poor folk to vote against their own interests since at least the 1960s. Though never have they been so openly hypocritical as in the Trump era.
I'm not American, but from an outsider's perspective, I think that neither of the two major political parties in the US truly puts the interests of poor Americans over those of the financial elite and large corporations. Essentially betrayed by both sides, the poor turn to the party that they at least feel closer to in terms of social values and the candidate they don't associate as much with the political establishment, even if their choice undermines some of the minor concessions that have been made to them.
Lilylee, you are correct with one very important exception - the current president is not at all popular in New Mexico, which is a very blue state in a sea of red. In the November 2018 election, all statewide offices went to the Democrats, and both the governor's office and the 2nd Congressional district flipped from red to blue.
Jeez I had to type "South Carolina" with only one second remaining. I think I must have been only a few tenths of a second away from the time running out.