Here’s a real-life look at all that Democrat-driven “hope and change”. Of course, the Obama administration will continue to claim it’s only trying to clean up the mess it inheirited, conveniently forgetting that most of the administration, including the President, voted to create the mess in the first place, but you’d think that after pouring all the TARP and stimulus monies into the economy and “reluctantly” taking over the banks and the automakers, as well as threatening any and everyone who dares to make a lot of money while increasing taxes on everyone and basically bankrupting the entire country, things would be in a little better shape by now than this, wouldn’t you?
Blue state average: 8.61%
Red state average: 7.17%
Unemployment Rates for States
Monthly Rankings
Seasonally Adjusted
Mar. 2009*
| Rank | State | Rate |
| 51 | MICHIGAN | 13 |
| 50 | OREGON | 12 |
| 49 | SOUTH CAROLINA | 11 |
| 48 | CALIFORNIA | 11 |
| 47 | NORTH CAROLINA | 11 |
| 46 | RHODE ISLAND | 11 |
| 45 | NEVADA | 10 |
| 44 | INDIANA | 10 |
| 42 | DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA | 9.8 |
| 42 | KENTUCKY | 9.8 |
| 40 | FLORIDA | 9.7 |
| 40 | OHIO | 9.7 |
| 39 | TENNESSEE | 9.6 |
| 38 | MISSISSIPPI | 9.4 |
| 36 | GEORGIA | 9.2 |
| 36 | WASHINGTON | 9.2 |
| 35 | ILLINOIS | 9.1 |
| 34 | ALABAMA | 9 |
| 33 | MISSOURI | 8.7 |
| 31 | ALASKA | 8.5 |
| 31 | WISCONSIN | 8.5 |
| 30 | NEW JERSEY | 8.3 |
| 29 | MINNESOTA | 8.2 |
| 28 | MAINE | 8.1 |
| 24 | ARIZONA | 7.8 |
| 24 | MASSACHUSETTS | 7.8 |
| 24 | NEW YORK | 7.8 |
| 24 | PENNSYLVANIA | 7.8 |
| 23 | DELAWARE | 7.7 |
| 21 | COLORADO | 7.5 |
| 21 | CONNECTICUT | 7.5 |
| 20 | VERMONT | 7.2 |
| 19 | HAWAII | 7.1 |
| 18 | IDAHO | 7 |
| 16 | MARYLAND | 6.9 |
| 16 | WEST VIRGINIA | 6.9 |
| 15 | VIRGINIA | 6.8 |
| 14 | TEXAS | 6.7 |
| 13 | ARKANSAS | 6.5 |
| 12 | NEW HAMPSHIRE | 6.2 |
| 10 | KANSAS | 6.1 |
| 10 | MONTANA | 6.1 |
| 8 | NEW MEXICO | 5.9 |
| 8 | OKLAHOMA | 5.9 |
| 7 | LOUISIANA | 5.8 |
| 5 | IOWA | 5.2 |
| 5 | UTAH | 5.2 |
| 4 | SOUTH DAKOTA | 4.9 |
| 3 | NEBRASKA | 4.6 |
| 2 | WYOMING | 4.5 |
| 1 | NORTH DAKOTA | 4.2 |
p = preliminary.
NOTE: Rates shown are a percentage of the labor force. Data refer to place of residence. Estimates for the current month are subject to revision the following month.
Of course, anyone with a modicum of sense realizes things are going to continue to get worse as the administration continues to pay back the labor unions, continue to cut the manufacturing sector off at the knees (and the rest of us by default) with it’s global warming nonsense, drag down the private sector with interference in corporate governance, and kill us (literally and financially) with nationalized health care. Which of course means that the 2010 elections are going to be a bloodbath, with my personal prognostication being that the above chart will turn – appropriately – solid red in 2011. Hopefully with lessons learned as well.