“Dr” John E. Stapleford’s Intellectual Dishonesty Ratio Hits 1:1
There is so much intellectual dishonesty embedded in this short CRI blurb, one can only imagine the beating that Stapey puts on the truth in the balance of the article.
The latest data on state to state migration confirms that folks vote rationally with their feet and that Delaware legislators are in denial about this fact.
Census data shows that two-thirds of the net migrants into Delaware from 2007-09 came from just four states: New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. Not surprisingly, these states have among the highest tax burdens, strong unions, and sluggish economies.
Two-thirds of the net out-migrants from Delaware went to five states: North Carolina, Florida, South Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee. All the states have comparatively low tax burdens, four are right to work, and these four have higher growth economies…
For every factual statement, there is an intellectually dishonest rejoinder. Whoever conferred the doctorate on Stapey continues to be buried in shame.
If one runs this comparison against average temperature for each state, we could simplify this down to a guess that people are moving to DE to get warmer and then another portion of the population are moving even further south to even warmer…this would represent about the same weight and depth of analysis as Stapleford’s effort.
Here’s my analysis: We’re trading dumbass Dixie lovers for solid Northeasterners. Why would I want to change that winning formula?
Geezer for the win.
Skeptic, From now on you will be called “Doctor Skeptic.” Congrats!
And those Dixie lovers are going to: a state where one of the state’s biggest employer’s has their HQ, 2 states where people retire to (WTF), and 2 states where there are busy car plants.
Which would suggest a more nuanced narrative than the one Stapleford so ham-handedly tries to work out.
Stapey should be wondering why they’re not going to Texas, where Rick Perry is creating all those jobs.
I guess you guys can’t handle the truth. The data is accurate (I note that you don’t challenge that, and, I suspect, you wouldn’t know where to begin to even challenge the data). As to the conclusions, well, talk to any realtor and they’ll tell you exactly the same thing. Lower taxes (as compared to PA, NY, NJ and Mass) are cited as the number one reason people are moving to Delaware by people themselves (and, one fact not cited by Stapleford: the number of people living in Delaware but communting to NJ, NY and PA is at an all time high). Unfortunately, DE is not creating jobs and so, at the same time, those needing work are moving to states with growing economies.
There is no data in the Stapleford blurb. If there was, we’d treat it accordingly. We leave it to you keep living with the illusion of data.
JackN,
The point is that this is a stretch analysis based on a simple correlation, which by the way, does not equal cause and effect. A much larger slice of data from several different areas of people’s lives and much more detail on each person moving in and out and for what reason would be needed to provide any real analysis such as this. You are correct that the “data” is accurate in so much as what it refers to. Stapleford’s “analysis” however is highly flawed and just plain silly conjecture.
Oh the stupidity of doctors who still think we live without the internet…..
The Census Bureau Report itself states that…..
43.7% moved for housing related reasons,
30.3% for a change in marital status,
16.6 for employment needs,
9.5% other factors, in which would be included Stapleford’s conjecture.
Furthermore…. the report states:
69.3% of movers stayed in the same county.
16.6 moved to a different county in the same state.
Leaving of course, 14.1% of movers to go from state to state.
Therefore, at the most, if we take the 9.5% who move for “other” reasons away from the 14.1% who moved from state to state, we see at of all those people moving, 1.33% would move in and out of Delaware for Mr. Staplefords reasoning…
But, it gets better…..
By region, people in the Northeast were the least likely to move, with a mover rate of 8.3 percent in 2010. The Northeast was followed by the Midwest (11.8 percent), the South (13.6 percent) and the West (14.7 percent).
So if one can draw any such conclusion from the data thrown at us by Mr. Stapleford (other than that he’s foolishly mistaken) it would be that people actually do prefer the economic stability and services provided in areas where taxes are higher and labor unions guarantee a steady income, that is, if one can presume to place any credibility on people voting with their feet.