More states ‘going down the tube’ have GOP, not Dem, govs

To the Editor:

On Dec. 17, George Pratt wrote that there are “approximately nine states going down the tube” and points out that all have Democratic governors [“A large degree of regret,” letter to the Altamont Enterprise editor]. He does not cite the standards that would qualify a state as “going down the tube.”

However, U.S. News and World Report considered various factors and rated all of the states in terms of which are the best places to live. Of the bottom 10, the 10 worst states to live in, seven have Republican governors.

CNBC also ranked the states. According to its survey, eight of the 10 worst states to live in have Republican governors.

I researched a few particular factors and found that seven of the 10 states with the highest poverty levels have Republican governors. Seven of the 10 states with the highest teen pregnancy rates have Republican governors. Seven of the 10 states with the highest homicide rates have Republican governors. I would say that these states are “going down the tube.”

Mr. Pratt also explained that he does not like Donald Trump’s personality but voted for him in November because of his accomplishments. Donald Trump accomplished additional things that merit mention: more than 315,000 Americans lost to COVID-19, a poverty rate of 11.7 percent, and a major cybersecurity breach affecting multiple federal agencies, to name just a few.

Finally, Mr. Pratt references “Joe Biden and his corrupt family.” To paint the Biden family as “corrupt” smacks of a right-wing smear tactic. Hunter Biden is under investigation, but that fact alone is insufficient to label him, or any other member of the Biden family, as corrupt. To contrast the Biden and Trump families would require a letter that would be too long for publication in this column.

Jill Loew

Guilderland

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