The poorest states make more money than most countries

[gatomontes99]

The left loves to lift up all these wonderful countries that tax the shit out of everyone. We love to say that taxing people to death will eliminate wealth. Well, here is a stat that will prove that. 

World GDP per capita 2025

US state per capita 2025

The poorest state in the US is Mississippi at just under $55,8877 per person per year. Here are countries that are near or below that mark:

UK $57,600

Finland $56,500

Canada $55,800

China $14,000

Only 26 countries out perform our poorest state. 

[Radiorum]

1 hour ago, gatomontes99 said:

The poorest state in the US is Mississippi at just under $55,8877 per person per year. Here are countries that are near or below that mark:

 

1 hour ago, gatomontes99 said:

Canada $55,800

 

This figure alone does not translate into "quality of life" measures for the average person - 

 

Poverty rate ... Mississippi = 18% ... Canada = 11%

Population without health insurance ... Mississippi = 15.2% ... Canada = 0%

Obesity rate ... Mississippi = 40% ... Canada = 30%

Incarceration rate ... Mississippi = 661/100K residents ... Canada = 110/100K residents

College educated ... Mississippi = 36.7% ... Canada = 64%

History of violent systemic racism/segregation against Black people ... Mississippi = yes ... Canada = no

 

[John Stone]

 

..........The poorest states make more money than most countries. 

 

[gatomontes99]

1 hour ago, Radiorum said:

 

 

This figure alone does not translate into "quality of life" measures for the average person - 

 

Poverty rate ... Mississippi = 18% ... Canada = 11%

Population without health insurance ... Mississippi = 15.2% ... Canada = 0%

Obesity rate ... Mississippi = 40% ... Canada = 30%

Incarceration rate ... Mississippi = 661/100K residents ... Canada = 110/100K residents

College educated ... Mississippi = 36.7% ... Canada = 64%

History of violent systemic racism/segregation against Black people ... Mississippi = yes ... Canada = no

 

Yeah. Your health care is so flipping awesome that suicide became a cost effective solution. 

[Radiorum]

25 minutes ago, gatomontes99 said:

Your health care is so flipping awesome that suicide became a cost effective solution.

This is just false, and shows you have no good answer

[Hodad]

4 hours ago, gatomontes99 said:

The left loves to lift up all these wonderful countries that tax the shit out of everyone. We love to say that taxing people to death will eliminate wealth. Well, here is a stat that will prove that. 

World GDP per capita 2025

US state per capita 2025

The poorest state in the US is Mississippi at just under $55,8877 per person per year. Here are countries that are near or below that mark:

UK $57,600

Finland $56,500

Canada $55,800

China $14,000

Only 26 countries out perform our poorest state. 

Nonsense. This is a case of data that you don't know how to interpret. Income is an irrelevant comparison on it's own. What you actually need to understand is how much quality of life people can get with the money they earn. If a person A makes twice as much money as Person B, but also has a 2x cost of living then they are equally well off. 

There are economists that study quality of life measurements full time and in sophisticated ways (the US doesn't crack the top 10 in most lists), but even if you just wanted a crude, raw number, you're using the wrong one. You'd want to look at PPP. 

Open your first link. Flip the 2nd selector to PPP GDP. -- The US comes in 12 on that list--the entire US, certainly not Mississippi. 

[Nationalist]

3 hours ago, Radiorum said:

 

 

This figure alone does not translate into "quality of life" measures for the average person - 

 

Poverty rate ... Mississippi = 18% ... Canada = 11%

Population without health insurance ... Mississippi = 15.2% ... Canada = 0%

Obesity rate ... Mississippi = 40% ... Canada = 30%

Incarceration rate ... Mississippi = 661/100K residents ... Canada = 110/100K residents

College educated ... Mississippi = 36.7% ... Canada = 64%

History of violent systemic racism/segregation against Black people ... Mississippi = yes ... Canada = no

 

Culture ... Mississippi = American  ... Canada = Indian.

[gatomontes99]

1 hour ago, Hodad said:

Nonsense. This is a case of data that you don't know how to interpret. Income is an irrelevant comparison on it's own. What you actually need to understand is how much quality of life people can get with the money they earn. If a person A makes twice as much money as Person B, but also has a 2x cost of living then they are equally well off. 

Who said anything about income? This is GDP per capita, not income. Those are not the same thing. 

Edited May 6 by gatomontes99

[Michael Hardner]

I had to pull back on an assertion that random violence is more prevalent in the US than Canada. However, I will maintain. The US cities have no-go zones that are not livable. 

 

I've been to East Vancouver but I would never go to Kensington in Philadelphia

[User]

5 hours ago, Radiorum said:

 

 

This figure alone does not translate into "quality of life" measures for the average person - 

 

Poverty rate ... Mississippi = 18% ... Canada = 11%

Population without health insurance ... Mississippi = 15.2% ... Canada = 0%

Obesity rate ... Mississippi = 40% ... Canada = 30%

Incarceration rate ... Mississippi = 661/100K residents ... Canada = 110/100K residents

College educated ... Mississippi = 36.7% ... Canada = 64%

History of violent systemic racism/segregation against Black people ... Mississippi = yes ... Canada = no

 

Those are not quality of life measurements…

 

4 hours ago, John Stone said:

 

..........The poorest states make more money than most countries. 

 

Yes, some random picture doesn’t change that. 

[robosmith]

2 hours ago, Nationalist said:

Culture ... Mississippi = American  ... Canada = Indian.

You're LYING

Quote

According to the 2021 Census, Indigenous people in Canada represent 5.0% of the total population, with over 1.8 million people identifying as Indigenous. [1]

 

[Hodad]

3 hours ago, gatomontes99 said:

Who said anything about income? This is GDP per capita, not income. Those are not the same thing. 

Well, you did. The second you started talking about taxing individuals you start talking about individual finances and how well off the individuals are under a certain system of taxation. Is productivity an intrinsic good, or are you intending it to be a proxy for individual well being? You are doing the latter. Which is a correct instinct. The GDP of a slave state could be off the charts, but you wouldn't want to live in one.

So, detour aside, you want to make the argument that lower taxation leads to higher productivity and higher individual well being, therefore it's better to live in a system of lower taxation. That's your thesis, right? The point of the thread?

But the data you linked doesn't support that. GDP and GDP per capita are the crudest proxies. As I said earlier, GDP PPP is what you want to look at if you are trying to comparing quality of life across countries using GDP data. (Which is the data that's readily available at-a-glance. Economists who study standard of living will look much deeper.)

[paxamericana]

11 hours ago, John Stone said:

 

..........The poorest states make more money than most countries. 

 

And yet still wealthier than Canada whose housing cost is bank owned for life.

7 hours ago, Michael Hardner said:

I had to pull back on an assertion that random violence is more prevalent in the US than Canada. However, I will maintain. The US cities have no-go zones that are not livable. 

 

I've been to East Vancouver but I would never go to Kensington in Philadelphia

Mmmhmmm will you go to an indigenous village then huh?

Edited May 7 by paxamericana

[paxamericana]

12 hours ago, Hodad said:

GDP and GDP per capita are the crudest proxies.

This isn’t correct, GDP represent productivity. What the data is showing us is that America generate higher value add in the economic output per person than say a Canadian. 

Edited May 7 by paxamericana

[gatomontes99]

21 hours ago, John Stone said:

 

..........The poorest states make more money than most countries. 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/jan/05/life-shanty-town-paris-abandoned-railway-petite-ceinture#img-1

 

[Hodad]

3 hours ago, paxamericana said:

This isn’t correct, GDP represent productivity. What the data is showing us is that America generate higher value add in the economic output per person than say a Canadian. 

Careful. You're starting to make an argument about that's not very flattering for the US. 😜

If the economic activity per capita is higher but the PPP is lower one might speculate that we work more hours with less to show for it than, say, the Nordic countries.

The Nordic countries are actually more productive per hour than we are. They've just made an active choice to work fewer hours and have more social stability. This manifests in things like medical care, child care, extended parental bonding, expected vacations, etc. Hence, the people are happier. 

[User]

45 minutes ago, Hodad said:

Careful. You're starting to make an argument about that's not very flattering for the US. 😜

If the economic activity per capita is higher but the PPP is lower one might speculate that we work more hours with less to show for it than, say, the Nordic countries.

The Nordic countries are actually more productive per hour than we are. They've just made an active choice to work fewer hours and have more social stability. This manifests in things like medical care, child care, extended parental bonding, expected vacations, etc. Hence, the people are happier. 

Notice how you focus on "nordic countries" that also have very low populations and strong natural resources... 

When you support flooding our country with lawlessness and open borders, you can't get the same thing. 

They have also spent decades freeloading off NATO protection and shirking their own military duties to contribute to the common defense. 

 

[paxamericana]

3 hours ago, Hodad said:

Nordic countries.

Oh boy here we go, a Bernie sander flunky. Math hard.

2 hours ago, User said:

strong natural resources... 

exactly, Norway’s energy sector is over 20% of their GDP.

Edited May 7 by paxamericana

[User]

22 minutes ago, paxamericana said:

exactly, Norway’s energy sector is over 20% of their GDP.

Also, a population of under 6 million...

NYC has more people than the whole country. 

How about we ship 10 million illegal immigrants to Norway and see how well their social system holds up. 

[Hodad]

1 hour ago, paxamericana said:

Oh boy here we go, a Bernie sander flunky. Math hard.

 

If you find math difficult, you don't have to try it. You could, you know, listen to the economists who study these questions full time. 

 Save your self the headache.🤷‍♂️

But if you did want to look at the numbers, you'd see that what I've said is correct. 
 

[paxamericana]

1 hour ago, Hodad said:

But if you did want to look at the numbers, you'd see that what I've said is correct.

The problem isn’t the data, it’s your cherry picking. America has no rival.

[Hodad]

36 minutes ago, paxamericana said:

The problem isn’t the data, it’s your cherry picking. America has no rival.

I can see why you don't like math, lol. Even in your screenshot, Oslo has a higher GDP per capita than every US state. And our highest tax states (NY, CT, CA etc.) dramatically outperform notable tax havens like Texas and Florida. So what argument are you trying to make again? 

But, as before, GDP per capita is about the crudest proxy for quality of life. For that you'd want to look at PPP. 

And if, for some reason you think productivity is crucial to quality of life, you'd at least want to look at something like GDP per work hour. Either of those will tell you something more about what it's like to live and work in those countries. 

Just looking at GDP or GDP per capita is kinda silly if you want to make an argument about "better" systems of government and taxation. Working 15 hour days 7 days a week can really boost GDP, but I don't think anyone really wants to live that way. 

Edited May 7 by Hodad

[User]

3 minutes ago, Hodad said:

I can see why you don't like math, lol. Even in your screenshot, Oslo has a higher GDP per capita than every US state. 

But, as before, that's about the crudest proxy for quality of life. For that you'd want to look at PPP. 
And if, for some reason you think productivity is crucial to quality of life, you'd at least want to look at something like GDP per work hour. Either of those will tell you something about what it's like to live and work in those countries. 

Just looking at GDP or GDP per capita is kinda silly if you want to make an argument about "better" systems of government and taxation. Working 15 hour days 7 days a week can really boost GDP, but I don't think anyone really wants to live that way. 

Only in backward leftist la la land is having the opportunity to work hard to make more money and have a better life something bad. 

Its why I know people who hated France, where you are not allowed to work more. 

I understand why you want to ignore these numbers, though, because folks like you want to obfuscate the harsh reality of the systems you want, where people are more equally miserable together instead of being able to thrive more individually. 

[paxamericana]

1 hour ago, Hodad said:

argument

Yuh huh, did you factor in the Nordic tax rate? 

[BeaverFever]

On 5/6/2026 at 6:40 AM, gatomontes99 said:

The left loves to lift up all these wonderful countries that tax the shit out of everyone. We love to say that taxing people to death will eliminate wealth. Well, here is a stat that will prove that. 

World GDP per capita 2025

US state per capita 2025

The poorest state in the US is Mississippi at just under $55,8877 per person per year. Here are countries that are near or below that mark:

UK $57,600

Finland $56,500

Canada $55,800

China $14,000

Only 26 countries out perform our poorest state. 

Another Republican fails to understand the difference between GDP and average income. Go to Mississippi and it’s full of working poor people living in relative poverty with a far lower quality of life than what the average Canadian or European has, with shitty government services and the state dependent upon handouts from the federal government. 

The poverty rate in Mississippi of 17.8% is nearly DOUBLE the Canadian average of 10% and probably more than double when you account for differences in measurement  

These poor states are actually like third world banana republic countries where large corporations can park their money for little or no tax, inflating GDP and the companies that actively do exist there can basically pollute and abuse workers at will with little consequence. Meanwhile the drinking water is polluted, medication is unaffordable and healthcare is the leading cause of personal bankruptcy, which is not even a thing that exists in Canada or Europe.