Why do blue states have the highest cost of living?

[Filthy_Immigrant]

I live in Rhode Island, one of the most hardcore blue states in our nation. I fucking hated it here since I migrated here at 4 in 1991.

now I can see why, but now I am starting to see a pattern. I mean could it be a coincidence that my state along with all the other state with the highest cost of living are blue states?

I never understood this. is like do politicians in blue states not know how to run the economy? do they not care about the struggle of their citizens? are they that money hungry?

[Jersey2]

Actually, it is ass backwards. The people that settled in these states have made a lot of money which means the state gets more in revenue and then gets sloppy with the money. They are insulated from hard times because the industries in blue states are doing well in general such as California with Tech , agriculture and more Federal government money than you know as it is in military bases. Washington state also has Tech. New York has Finance along with global headquarters of major firms.

So their state governments get a lot of money and more still since they tax more. With this extra money they become more blue as they forgot how hard it is to get by and they tend to dabble in things other cannot afford.

Since the economy is doing well it runs up the price of housing, labor, food, and everything else. Rich people in a small area can spend more and will as they all want the same things in a small area. So the economic law of supply and demand plays here. Now, couple that with higher taxes, and higher base incomes to apply that tax and you get a blue government. Now layer richer people than average in a small area and you get a high cost of living.

[Miristheiss]

Their leaders are all democrat, some leftists and they are big into big welfare and entitlement programs, high taxes, tons of government spending. If you look at California though, those high taxes (I think the highest in the country) don't really go back to the taxpayers and fund a well run society. There are homeless all over the place causing businesses to shut down or move, the cities are dirty and not clean and new (like Tokyo for example where the government prioritizes cleanliness and order), drug addiction everywhere, they aren't prepared for the fires and seem surprised that happened.

Californians pay the highest and get nothing for all of those taxes they pay.

Corruption and incompetency. I'm sure CA is still looking for more ways to raise taxes though.

[Apple1996]

Probably because blue states have bigger cities so those are just more expensive. I live in NY (not the city) and tbh it's cheaper here than the red states I've lived in. My kids also have way better schooling/free programs here so money goes into those things too so Its kind of cheating the system a bit by living in a cheaper area of a blue state but getting all the perks of what the state offers 😂

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

Higher quality of life = higher cost of living.


If money is your biggest issue, you could always move to Mississippi, one of the reddest and most impoverished states in the US.

[Filthy_Immigrant]

thanks but I already had Las Vegas in mind. by the way, higher quality of life my big brown ass!

[noohair]

This is a complicated question. They have more taxes because they want more services. Those services try to control the citizens with more giveaways to keep people relying on government. The progressives think that their citizens are not smart and need to be controlled. This drives up costs. Welcome to the nanny state…

[ameliajohn006]

Blue states often have the highest cost of living due to factors like higher demand in densely populated urban areas, stronger economies, stricter regulations, higher taxes, and robust public services. These contribute to increased housing, healthcare, and transportation costs, which drive up overall living expenses.

[RasmusAiken]

Blue states feel that more Government is the answer to nearly everything and they'll figure out a way to tax almost everything. When private companies need to compete with Government (i. e. labor, real estate) prices go up.

[exitseven]

Democrat politicians buy votes with welfare benefits. They create a whole welfare class that will vote for them while the rest of us has to pay for it. After a couple of decades the welfare class states to get off welfare so this is why they imported millions of illegal aliens to replace them. They create all these failed social programs and hand out jobs like they are confettii. Everyone makes 6 figures and the taxpayers are on the hook for it

[Syntosi]

Supply and demand. People wants to live there. A high cost of living is usually a sign of a good and healthy economy, because people can afford to pay more and by extension corporations can ask for higher prices and offer more goods and services.

[Filthy_Immigrant]

www.tiktok.com/.../7410310147886681349

[Syntosi]

https://i.redd.it/80r00mhf1w6c1.png

"is like do politicians in blue states not know how to run the economy?" - Says person living in 3rd world country

[Filthy_Immigrant]

The United States is not a 3rd world country, Einstein

[Syntosi]

First of all, some parts pretty much are. Secondly, I used a convenient thing called Argument from analogy to more easily explain to someone that their assumptions of having a low or high cost of living is wrong.

Suffice to say, I think I outdid myself here because hot damn! I would not want to live in Northern Africa even if it was cheap as chips.

So next time you see California with its high cost of living, perhaps they get what they paid for ultimately.

[Filthy_Immigrant]

yeah and I bet you think piss is worth gold just because they are the same color. speaking of California this might explain why Californians are moving out of their state at a fast pace

[Syntosi]

The "fast pace" of Californians leaving the state is not fast enough to make up for the fact that more are being born. The population of California is increasing year after year.

[Filthy_Immigrant]

that's not the point einstein. the reason why they are leaving Cali is because obviously can no longer afford the high ass cost of living they made for themselves

[Syntosi]

... Or the fact that people just tend to move and travel.. and the fact that California has so many people means that even if a small percentage of them moves to another state then that would still count for a huge amount of outflow.

If we were to assume that people were fleeing California then the population of that state should go down by several percentage points each year. It does not, in is increasing. Your claim is simply wrong.

[Filthy_Immigrant]

Yeah might explain why folks in red states complain that people from California and many other blue state are always moving into their state trying to escape the high cost of living just to turn their state into the hellhole their state already was

[Syntosi]

And yet the number of people in the state is increasing, almost like the ones you are referring to are just a minority and does not represent the average person living in that state. Nice try.

[Filthy_Immigrant]

Yeah I prefer listening to what real people say over statistics that are probably paid for by those who want to enforce their narrative. So yeah try coping harder next time

[Syntosi]

So you prefer to listen to a fraction of a minority that is self-selected to give a very particular response as opposed to the rest of the 99%? Yepp, sounds totally in line with your worldview. Carry on.

[Filthy_Immigrant]

selective or not if they are real people that I know personally then you bet your ass I'm gonna believe their experience over the 99% made up by google

[Syntosi]

... This is so stupid. If I know 10 people and 5 of them are trans then should I assume that 50% of all the people in my country are transsexuals?

[Filthy_Immigrant]

So let me get this straight—you're comparing a massive, well-documented migration trend affecting entire economies to a hypothetical scenario about 10 people you know? That's not just a false equivalence, it's a cry for help. If you can’t see the difference between millions of people relocating due to cost of living and whatever nonsense you just pulled out of thin air, I don’t know what to tell you. But go off, I guess.

[Syntosi]

Is it a false equivalence? The people you are referencing are about as representative of everyone in California as my hypothetical example, and the kicker here is that you literally said "selective or not if they are real people that I know personally then you bet your ass I'm gonna believe their experience over the 99% made up by google".

So yes, by all means continue to tell me how much of an idiot you yourself are.

[Filthy_Immigrant]

Ah, there it is—the classic ‘I’m losing, so let me start throwing insults’ tactic. You’re trying so hard to twist my words to make your nonsense comparison seem valid, but all you’re really doing is proving you’ve got nothing left. Go ahead, keep patting yourself on the back. Reality isn’t going to change just because you insult your way out of an argument.

[Syntosi]

Oh? Have I been neglecting to insult you all this time? I humbly apologize, that was not my intention. I fully intended to insult you from the start.

But as you say, "Reality isn’t going to change" and neither is the fact that Californias population is growing, not shrinking. People are not fleeing the state in any appreciable numbers. That is something you just made up to make yourself feel better about your pathetically flawed worldview.

[Filthy_Immigrant]

Oh, so now you’re just admitting that your whole goal was to insult me? That’s cute. Usually, people wait until they’ve completely lost the argument before making it this obvious, but hey, I respect the efficiency. Also, California’s population has declined due to outmigration. But sure, keep making things up—it’s entertaining

anyways people definitely aren’t fleeing California, which is why U-Haul literally ran out of trucks leaving the state and even the Census shows net population loss. But please, go on—tell me more about how facts are just my ‘flawed worldview.’ I could use the laugh

[Syntosi]

Believe it or not but I dont particularly enjoy arguing with idiots online. Talking with you is neither intellectually stimulating nor constructive in any way. Thinking of funny ways to insult you is kind of my reward for putting up with your bullshit.

Since the year 1900 there has only been a single year where the population of California dropped and that was by a single percent after covid19. So no, the population is not going down.

[Filthy_Immigrant]

Ah, the classic ‘if I can’t win the argument, I’ll just insult the other person’ approach. Bold strategy. Let me know when you’re ready to have an actual discussion

[Syntosi]

My point still stands. California has only had a negative population growth for 1 year since 1900. Your claim that people are fleeing from the state is factually incorrect.

[Filthy_Immigrant]

Glad to see we’ve moved past the insults. Now, if you’re ready to engage with the actual argument, we can discuss why net migration out of California is a real trend, even if overall population numbers have fluctuated.

[Syntosi]

Now see here, this is why what you are saying is stupid. If we say that a certain percentage of people want to move out of the state and travel, for the arguments sake 1%, then there aren't any states around California that could even come close to match its population. Having over a million people emigration away from California sounds like a big number but as I have stated repeatedly it is not enough to make the growth rate go down. California is still gaining more people than it is "losing".

The emigration rate of California is negligible to the state itself but if you were to try match that with an inflow of immigration from the nearby states then it would basically hollow them out because they can't match it.

You are missing the point where California is just dealing with a completely different scale of things. What you think is a significant outflow, simply isn't.

[dustybiker2]

Because they know how to make things run. The rich want to pocket their money and screw everyone else. The rest of the world want streets without potholes.

[NaultD]

Supply and demand. There's opportunities outside of Walmart.

https://images.app.goo.gl/V1nQitrGfXAPvbfY8

[Agape93]

Higher population density, laws are more in line with what people want, less opioid abuse and subsequent crime, etc

[Filthy_Immigrant]

less opioid abuse my dick!

if I had a dollar for every time I ran into a drug addict I be rich and moving elsewhere a while ago. also cities like Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles and many many others strongly disagree with you on "subsequent crime"

[Agape93]

Bruh not every drug is an opioid. And the highest opioid abuse states are red.

[Agape93]

Now drug use in general? Or property crime? Yeah California alone tops both

[Filthy_Immigrant]

unfortunately opioids are legal and therefore more likely to be abused. blue states in the other hand have higher rate of crack, meth, and other illegal drugs which screams that their moral compass is weaker for not tracking down the illegal substance that enter their states let alone stopping the assholes who fabricate and sell them

[Agape93]

Which means my point still stands

[lightbulb27]

whats so terrible about RH?

Ohio is good and cheap... KY might be as well.

I don't know... are blue states getting social benefits other states don't provide?

[NathanDavis]

because they have the most people... more people, more money... in every sense

[beefcakebradybatson]

They run America's best economies with the highest living standards, which cost more than backwards red goober states !!!

[Filthy_Immigrant]

might explain why people in red goober states live far more peacefully than the adrenaline junkies here do

[Maria0002]

Cause a lot people and mean people mean money.

[Dongie]

Democrat corruption.

[Filthy_Immigrant]

that's exactly what I was referring to when I said "pattern"

[Pterodon]

Liberal democrat policies

[Dargil]

Democrat leadership.

[Twalli]

The living situation is better.

[Filthy_Immigrant]

yeah come live in a blue state yourself and watch how fast you'll bite your tongue

[Twalli]

You think I don't?

[Filthy_Immigrant]

then you must be rich as fuck

[Twalli]

I'm not, my family is. I actually live in a red state, but near the river that separates us from several blue states. My neighborhood specifically is pretty split. About 50-50 conservative and liberal based on campaign yard signs.

[Filthy_Immigrant]

Then you don’t live in a blue state, Einstein

[Twalli]

No, but I have for most of my life.

[Filthy_Immigrant]

Let me know when you move back to a blue state and have to work and pay taxes for them

[Twalli]

You think people in red states don't have to work and pay taxes?

[Filthy_Immigrant]

who said I dont? but whatever you pay is nothing compared to what you will pay in a blue state where the cost of living is already high and the government forces more out of you

[princeofromance]

Blue States are run by Democrats.