North Carolina is not regarded as a toss-up state. It’s a strong red state, and has been in the right wing of American politics for generations – in fact, for the entire history of the United States.
If you were to look for a state as a test for how well right wing economic politics provides for the people, North Carolina would be among the top contenders. Right wing politicians have had hundreds of years to work their way with the economy of North Carolina.
The results have not been good for North Carolina’s children. The poverty rate for North Carolinians in general is higher than the national average, but there’s an even greater gap between the child poverty rate on the national level and the child poverty rate in North Carolina.
More than one in five children living in North Carolina are being raised under the poverty line. It isn’t their fault that they’ve been born into poor families, but they’re suffering for it, and the right wing economic policy of North Carolina’s state government has not enabled them or their parents to attain a better life.
It doesn’t have to be that way. States where people vote Democratic have much lower poverty rates – for children and adults – on average.
North Carolina’s high rate of poverty shows us the practical consequences of rejecting a progressive economic policy. Let’s not make the same mistake on the national level.
