Another run round of how to manipulate statistics brought to you by the NAR!

::::::::

Click Here

Because the NAR dominionist agenda is dictated to them by their political masters in the Republican Party, one of the main priorities is to create a false narrative to divide people against each other. It is really a plot of Satan, as it turns the people who need the gospel the most into the enemies of the church. One of the clearest divisions they sell is the notion of red and blue states. Blue states are presented as evil bastions of leftist ideology and out of control crime while red state America is presented as a Christian Shangri-La. These distortions serve only to deepen our divide. Yes, there are states that vote one way or the other while a few remain "swing" states but the notion that everything in blue states is an abomination and everything in red states is godly is obscenely wrong and idolatrous. An example of trying to create this narrative is the above linked article from Michael Snyder at Charisma News. Snyder is one of the most prolific dominionists at Charisma with a resume including a failed congressional bid where he promised to be Trump's best friend. Today's bit of fantasy linked above has Snyder making wild conclusions as to migration patterns from state to state the he does not understand. In each case, the conclusion magically fits his narrative construction we just outlined. Let us reason together once more beloved.

"In recent years we have literally seen millions of Americans relocate from blue states to red states. In some cases, there is simply a desire to be around other like-minded people. In other cases, specific political policies that have been enacted in certain states have motivated large numbers of people to relocate. This was particularly true during the pandemic. Of course there are also many that are just trying to escape the crime, drugs, homelessness and violence that are plaguing so many major cities in blue states. For those that are trying to raise a family, finding a safe environment for their children is often of the utmost importance. As a result of the factors that I have just mentioned, we have been witnessing a "mass exodus" to "Red America" that is unlike anything we have ever seen before. Vast numbers of people have been moving from blue states such as California, New York and Illinois to red states such as Florida, Idaho and Montana." - Michael Snyder

One of the things dominionists rely on is a lazy listening public that will not bother to fact check the garbage they spew. First of all, comparing the amount of people leaving densely populated states versus sparsely populated states bears no statistical significance. In other words, comparing people leaving New York and California to Idaho and Montana is quite frankly, stupid. Now, Florida has a decent population density but this crack analysis does not even address the obvious, which is people retire to Florida. Usually that retirement comes from densely populated cities where they could live while working but now with reduced income in the retirement years, they pursue states that have lower costs of living and no state taxes, such as Florida. As for the silly random negative stats, they are untrue. The murder rates in red states for example was 33% higher than in blue states. Florida by the way has the third highest homeless population, after the denser California and New York. The notion that blue states have no safe place to raise a family is equally moronic. What Snyder is doing is comparing blue cities, to red states. The reality is raising a family in any densely populated city is more dangerous than in suburbia, regardless of state.

"More and more Americans are moving from Democratic-leaning blue states to Republican-voting red ones, and one of the effects of this change is that they are relocating to places with lower life expectancy. Idaho, Montana and Florida, all red states, had the greatest population growth among U.S. states between 2020 and 2022. Meanwhile, New York and Illinois, both blue states, and Louisiana, a red state, suffered the biggest population losses. California, another blue state, has experienced significant recent population loss as well. One key reason for this migration is the high cost of living in places like New York and California, compared with the lower cost of living in red states such as Georgia or Indiana." - Michael Snyder

It is so stunning when someone as duplicitous as Snyder presents one side of an argument because it supports his narrative, while pretending the other side does not exist. It is entirely true that many people move to redder states because the cost of living is lower, which is why many retire there as previously outlined. The other side of the coin however is wages are pathetically lower in those states as well. Once again, this explains why retirees relocate there, because they are no longer working anyway. The top three states by average salary for example are Massachusetts, New York and California while the three lowest are deep red Mississippi, West Virginia and Arkansas. The differential is $30,000 by the way. What this really reveals as well is why the red to blue state migration is so much lower than blue to red. It is easier to move from blue to red because you are going from a higher cost of living to a lower but also one cannot generate similar salaries when moving from blue to red. I remember when I was looking for work several years ago and literally jobs paying six figures in New York were paying less than 50K in Texas. Employers ask for salary history for a reason and they do not take into consideration red versus blue states.

"The nationwide realignment that has been taking place is truly remarkable. According to economist Stephen Moore, approximately five million people have migrated out of Illinois, New York, California and New Jersey during that past 10 years. A lot has been reported about celebrities like Joe Rogan moving out of California in recent years. However, economist Stephen Moore says there's a much broader trend here. During a recent interview with Fox Business, Moore claimed that over the last 10 years, about five million people have left the so-called "blue states" Illinois, New York, California and New Jersey. "This is one of the biggest mass migrations in American history," he said." - Michael Snyder

Stephen Moore is a conservative commentator. His specialty is promoting the economic talking points that Snyder is selling. Joe Rogan is worse. What is not being factored into trying to apply any conclusion to the past ten years? COVID. You have to be purposefully deceitful to not acknowledge that COVID first of all, made many decide to retire early, and as such then seek the same retirement migration patterns already discussed. On top of that COVID also forced many to find cheaper places to live, forcing them into the south. The final consideration here is that COVID revealed a new economy which included hybrid and remote work. The beauty of remote work is you do not have to live where the job is.

"He is right. This really is one of the largest mass migrations in our entire history. The red state that has gained the most from all of this domestic migration is Florida. Among large states (those with a population above the 50-state average), the net-domestic-migration winner over the 13-quarter period after COVID-19's arrival was Florida. The Sunshine State added a net tally of 819,000 Americans over that span. To put that into perspective, in just three years and change, Florida added more people from net domestic migration than the combined populations of Miami and Orlando. The large-state runner-up: Texas. It added 80% as many people as Florida (656,000). The state that lost the most was California, which shed 1.2 million people through net domestic outmigration"the rough equivalent of San Francisco and Oakland's combined populations. The runner-up loser was New York, which lost about three-quarters as many people as California." - Michael Snyder

It would not surprise me that during the two years of the worst viral plague of our lives, many people were forced to find less expensive places to live. What it is not however, is a political commentary. No one sat around the kitchen table and decided to move to a red state because it votes red. That is patently absurd. Florida and Texas do not have state taxes. They also have two of the most depressed economies in the country, which again, is why people retire there. So, it should not surprise anyone, let alone someone pretending to be an economist like Moore, that during the deep financial crisis of COVID that many fled the more expensive places to live such as New York and California to the least in Florida and Texas.

"Not too long ago, Florida was considered to be a "swing state" that was divided almost equally between Democrats and Republicans. But now it is solidly red. Many conservatives are attracted to the Sunshine State because there is no state income tax. Of course the spectacular weather doesn't hurt, either. According to a real estate company known as "Conservative Move," large numbers of conservatives have also been relocating to South Carolina. Conservative Move, a real-estate company with about 500 agents across the country, helps conservatives find homes near like-minded people"and South Carolina is becoming a big draw. The group's founder, Paul Chabot, told Business Insider that while Texas and Florida consistently rank among the top locations his conservative clients choose to move to, he's seen a big spike in the number of people who want to relocate to South Carolina in the past two years. He said his company currently has about 5,000 clients who are considering moving to the state soon." - Michael Snyder

The shift in Florida politics is correct but of course Snyder omits the reasons. The explosion of Cuban Hispanics in formerly democratic bastions in southern Florida is often cited as a main driver. That said, there are often changes in state voting patterns and they usually have very little to do with the narrative Snyder is selling. Georgia for example was redder than Florida was blue and now both Senators are Democratic. At least Snyder admits that state taxes and weather also play a role in relocation. South Carolina by the way, is barely above the three lowest states in average salary. Hopefully I would not have to point out that relying on data from an organization that only relocates conservatives to conservative neighborhoods probably should be relied upon for anything significant.

"I really like South Carolina. In fact, in my latest book I ranked it number three out of all 50 states. I would just recommend staying away from the coast and the major population centers.

In addition to a mass migration from blue state to red states, we are also seeing lots of people relocate to small towns and rural communities. The remote work boom that prompted Americans to flee urban areas for mountain hamlets and seaside towns during the pandemic continued at least through last year, according to University of Virginia demographer Hamilton Lombard. An estimated 291,400 people last year migrated from other areas into America's small towns and rural areas, which Lombard defines as metropolitan areas with 250,000 people or fewer." - Michael Snyder

So, South Carolina is great but stay away from the coast and population centers? How infantile in its obviousness. PEOPLE are in the population centers. This again reinforces that we are not talking about mass migration from blue to red but rather, from population centers to more rural or suburban centers. At least Snyder admits that the remote work realities have also fed these patterns. This combined with the COVID realities discussed are actually what is going on. Snyder knows this but that does not feed his narrative.

"Mid-size cities are also growing, but meanwhile large cities are bleeding residents at a rapid pace. Areas with 250,000 to one million people saw a net in-migration of 266,448 people last year, while areas with one million to four million people recorded only a modest gain. Areas with more than four million people were the big losers, shedding almost 600,000 people last year, according to Lombard's research using US Census Bureau data. These days there is such a hunger for a high quality of life, and most of the core urban areas in our blue states do not have that to offer at this point." - Michael Snyder

The absurd conclusions continue. People do not relocate to Florida because of a high quality of life. These decisions are largely economic in nature. The shedding of populations from large cities is directly chargeable to COVID and the new emerging economy. If you once lived in NYC for example but experienced downtime in working during the pandemic, there was literally no way you could have stayed. You would have had to move but not for "quality of life." I might add that the capitalist society will not have to adjust to the emerging economy. Employers do not need as large a footprint in rented space as they did prior to COVID. Please do not lose sight that the narrative being sold by Snyder is a NAR fanciful dream. Do not be surprised of we start seeing some of these redder stats start shifting back to purple and blue. That is just the nature of politics.

"Sean Hannity is one of those that has migrated to a red state from a large city in a blue state, and he sounds absolutely thrilled to have made the move. Sean Hannity, the prominent Fox News personality, has made the decision to sell his expansive Long Island property for $13.75 million"mere months after revealing his relocation plans from New York to Florida. In a notable shift, Hannity disclosed earlier this year that he would be broadcasting his renowned radio show, "The Sean Hannity Show," as well as his television program, "Hannity," from studios in West Palm Beach. "We are now beginning our first broadcast from my new home, and that is in the free state of Florida," Hannity announced on his iHeartRadio show. "I am out. I am done. I'm finished." Good for him." - Michael Snyder

The fact that the most faux conservative political commentator is now leaving NY means absolutely nothing. It fits his image. The new economy and the fact that Hannity calls his own shots, means he can broadcast his shows from wherever he wants and he chose Palm Beach over Long Island. I am sure that taxes played a role in his decision and he cited the wildly crazy and unpopular Governor of Florida. What does any of this have to do with the narrative Snyder is pimping? Absolutely nothing. Talk to me in five years and let's see what the new economy bears out.

"But there is no place that is perfect, and the truth is that our country as a whole is very rapidly heading in the wrong direction. So the reality of the matter is that ultimately there will be no hiding from our growing national problems. If we do not find a way to turn things around, our red states will eventually become just like our blue states. Unfortunately, the clock is ticking and time is quickly slipping away." - Michael Snyder

Ah, great to conclude on the general rallying cry of the Republican Party and thus the NAR dominionist church. Everything is going to hell so you must vote for the most ethically challenged presidential candidate in history. Whatever. The bottom line here is that Michael Snyder is exposed as yet again just being a political shill disguised as a Christian operative. He is not. He wants to convince you that everyone in states that vote blue are godless heathens promoting violence, crime and poor quality of life while everyone in states that vote red are salt of the earth saved Evangelicals you can sing Kumbaya with. To support this, Snyder looks at migration patterns from states to states using statistics from the COVID years, without factoring that into the equation at all. The primary drivers as always are economic, period. Is it cheaper to live in most red states? Sure, but so are the wages and once you establish yourself at a salary it is very difficult to drastically move up. Moving from Florida to New York for example does not mean your New York job offers will suddenly be 30K higher because of cost of living. This is why people generally do not move from red to blue states. Not because of some vague, "quality of life." Do not fall for the narrative from pseudo-Christian political operatives like Snyder and the political masters he bows down to.

Reverend Anthony Wade - May 11, 2024

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.