Why Minnesota residents are blessed

Although I was born in Minnesota more than 70 years ago (yikes!), I have not lived in the state since 1981. However, over the years, I have come to appreciate why people who still live in the state are fortunate.

I’m in the process of reading Al Franken’s latest book, “Giant of the Senate”, and just got to the part where he mentions that Minnesota has the highest voter turnout rate in the nation.

Naturally, I had to look it up, and found that Minnesota DOES have the highest voter turnout rate in the country, at 73.2%. Wisconsin comes in second, at 71.2%.

https://www.thoughtco.com/states-with-the-highest-voter-turnout-3367684

That, of course, leads to the next question, which is what states have the LOWEST voter turnout?  Arizona is close to the bottom, at 58.4%, but it’s not the worst. That “honor” goes to Hawaii, which has a voter turnout of only 50%.

https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/10-us-states-with-the-lowest-voter-turnouts.html

Apart from the fact that Minnesota has a lot of conscientious voters, why else would people live in a state that is the 4^th coldest in the country? (Only Alaska, North Dakota, and Maine are colder.)

For one thing, it is consistently one of the healthiest states in the country, and is surpassed in that category only by Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. All of the unhealthiest states are in the Bible Belt.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/12/15/these-healthiest-and-unhealthiest-states-country/95418136/

People that live in Minnesota are also some of the most educated in the country. The state has consistently ranked in the top 10 in the country. Mississippi is the LEAST educated state in the country

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/23/the-10-most-and-least-educated-states-in-2018.html

Minnesota is also one of the best-run states in the country. It has the 2^nd highest high school graduation rate in the country, one of the highest percentage of residents covered by health care, and among the nation’s lowest crime and poverty rates. In addition, the state’s economy was strong, as well, with a GDP growth rate of 3.5% in 2012, an unemployment rate of just 5.6%, and a median income of nearly $59,000, all of which were among the best in the nation. Officially, California is ranked as the worst run state in the country.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/best-worst-run-states-america-030403958.html

Thanks to people like the Koch brothers or Grover Norquist, many conservatives in this country hold the misconception that taxes are a bad thing. For most of my life, Minnesota has been considered a high tax state, and former Governor Bruce Dayton increased taxes dramatically in 2013. In fact, his tax measure was one of the largest tax increases in the state’s history, but it had very positive results. Ironically, Forbes magazine now ranks Minnesota as one of the best states in the country for business, and it stands in stark contrast to Wisconsin, which took the direct opposite approach, causing the economy to tank.

https://www.mic.com/articles/111424/2-years-after-raising-taxes-on-the-rich-here-s-what-happened-to-minnesota-s-economy

If taxes are a bad thing, then why do 24 Fortune 500 companies have their headquarters in Minnesota?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_companies_based_in_Minneapolis%E2%80%93Saint_Paul

The answer is that Minnesota has some of the best educated workers in the country, due to the fact that Minnesota exceeds the national average in per-pupil public education funding. Arizona is the third worst in the country, and the state actually spends less on education than Mississippi, which has the lease educated people in the country.

https://www.gobankingrates.com/saving-money/education/states-spend-least-education/#24

There are only 4 states (New York, Texas, California, and Illinois) that have more Fortune 500 company headquarters in their state than Minnesota. Ironically, Chief Executive magazine ranks 3 of them as the WORST states to do business in.

https://chiefexecutive.net/10-states-with-the-most-fortune-500-headquarters__trashed/

Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes (it’s actually 11,842) , so it is not surprising that Minnesota is #1 in the country in terms of per capita boat ownership, which means there are a lot of fishermen in the state:

https://www.tripsavvy.com/arizona-boats-per-capita-2682271

You probably are familiar with the term “Minnesota nice”, but what does that term mean in reality? According to the website listed below, Minnesota is ranked as the friendliest state in the nation.

https://www.thetoptens.com/friendliest-u-s-states/

Since Minnesota people are smart, there ARE a lot of them that winter in Arizona. At the Mesa, Arizona resort where our Minnesota relatives spend the winter, there are more “residents” from Minnesota than any other state – but they are still surpassed by the Canadians.

I’m living proof that you can be exposed to winter temperatures of -30 degrees and survive, but I’d recommend making your trips to Minnesota during the more temperate months. Be aware, also, that Minnesota people DO talk funny, so you would be wise to bone up on the “Minnesota language system” before you go.

https://tohell-andback.blogspot.com/2009/08/how-to-talk-minnesotan.html

If you enjoy trivia questions, you may appreciate the fact that Minnesota has more cows than there are people in 20 other states. The link below also will give you 12 other fun facts about Minnesota.

https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/minnesota/incredible-facts-mn/

and here are 50 more ..

https://www.50states.com/facts/minnesota.htm

I REALLY like living in Arizona in the winter, but am I glad that I lived my formative years in Minnesota?

You betcha.

Let’s go Dutch on this one …

If you watched the Democratic debates, you probably noticed that there is a wide variety of opinions on how to handle health care in this country. Bernie Sanders is still advocating “Medicare for all”, but other candidates were advocating for a hybrid system that expands public health insurance, but also allows people to keep their current coverage if they choose to do so.

Bernie may actually be correct that his plan would lower insurance costs for everyone, but it’s going to be a hard sell if people think that they’ll have to give up what they already have in order to get coverage If the Democrats want to regain the Senate and the White House in 2020, the focus should be on improving the existing Affordable Care Act, which offers the best combination of public and private insurance.

Ever since it was passed in 2010, the Affordable Care Act has been under attack by the Republican Party – and they are still at it this week. A federal appeals court panel will hear arguments Tuesday on whether a federal judge in Texas was correct in striking down the Affordable Care Act, a case with enormous stakes not only for millions of people who gained health insurance through the law but for the political futures of President Trump and other candidates in the 2020 elections.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/09/health/obamacare-appeals-court.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage

Democrats are already running ads against Mr. Trump and other Republicans over the case, including five state attorneys general who signed on as plaintiffs and will be up for re-election next fall. Protect Our Care, an advocacy group that supports the law, will start running digital ads this week against Republican senators considered vulnerable next year: Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Joni Ernst of Iowa, Cory Gardner of Colorado and Martha McSally of Arizona.

If the appeals court agrees with the Republicans, the number of uninsured people in America would increase by 20,000,000 people, an increase of 65%. In addition, the Kaiser Foundation has estimated that 52 million adults with pre-existing conditions would be rejected for individual coverage if the Affordable Care Act were repealed altogether.

The Democratics achieved huge gains in the 2018 mid-term elections by focusing on core issues like health care, and should continue to do so in 2020. There is no question that our health care system needs improving, but it won’t happen until the “adults in the room” (the Democrats) control both houses of Congress and the White House.

You may have seen ads recently for Trumpcare Medicare, but don’t be fooled. It actually does not exist. “Trumpcare” is the name given to the American Health Care Act that was passed by the House of Representatives. Fortunately for all of us, John McCain killed the bill in the Senate.

https://www.medicaresupplement.com/content/trumpcare-explained/

What “Trumpcare” actually is are a series of tweaks to the Affordable Care Act – and not all the changes are good:

https://obamacarefacts.com/trumpcare-explained/

Which country has the best health insurance coverage? It’s the same country that most people think of when your thoughts turn to tulips and windmills – the Netherlands. It also happens to have one of the most expensive health care systems in the world – but it is still a LOT cheaper than the coverage available in the United States.

https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2017/01/nl-has-best-healthcare-system-in-europe-swedish-consumer-group-says/

The United States has the most expensive health care in the entire world, with a per capita expenditure of $8713 per person, which amounts to 17.7% percent of our GDP. The Netherlands is #4 on the list, with per capita spending of $5131, or 11.1% of GDP. Canada (which has been rated as the most respected country in the world) had a per capita expenditure of $4351, or 10.2% of GDP.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-05-19/10-most-expensive-countries-healthcare-world

If you were looking for the CHEAPEST health care coverage, where would you go? If you live in southern states, like Florida or Georgia, you might want to book a flight to Cuba while you can still get one. Not only does Cuba have the cheapest health coverage, it also has some of the most dedicated and best trained doctors.

https://www.therichest.com/expensive-lifestyle/lifestyle/the-top-10-countries-with-the-cheapest-healthcare/quickview/8

Mexico also has some of the cheapest health coverage in the world, which is why LOTS of people from Arizona cross the border for their health care. Since replacing a single tooth in America can cost as much as $7000 (and I know a guy who paid that) it’s not surprising that people go to Mexico for dental coverage, usually at clinics that are owned and staffed by American citizens.

Holland may well have the best health care in the world. As of this week, though, they have the SECOND BEST women’s soccer team.

 How about them apples?