Southern State GDP per-capita Comparisons with Independent Nations
by Cole Cleburne

In a recent post I examined where southern states would rank as independent nations in terms of GDP. Of course the larger more populous states should and will have larger GDP's. Next I'd like to look at GDP per capita. As I stated previously using GDP numbers is not an exact science, because it counts government meddling as economic activity.

Let's look at where our southern states would rank as independent nations, then compare them to nations of the world. GDP per capita can be considered a strong indicator of living conditions in a country. (Numbers taken from 2010 GDP data)

1. Virginia $53,463, (10th) comparable to Norway

2. Louisiana $47,467 (14th) comparable to the U.S.

3. Texas $45,940 (14th) comparable to Switzerland

4. North Carolina $42,884 (18th) comparable to the Netherlands

5. Georgia $41,711 (21st) comparable to Canada

6. Missouri $41,117 (21st) comparable to Canada

7. Florida $40,106 (24th) comparable to Ireland

8. Tennessee $39,730 (25th) comparable to Ireland

9. Kentucky $37,535 (30th) comparable to Denmark

10. Arkansas $36,483 (35th) comparable to the U.K.

11. Alabama $36,333 (35th) comparable to the U.K.

12. South Carolina $35,717 (36th) comparable to France

13. West Virginia $35,053 (38th) comparable to Japan

14. Mississippi $32,967 (40th) comparable to South Korea

As you can see from the chart, if each southern state were independent, everyone's standard of living would be comparable to South Korea or better. A free south would rank every new nation in the top 55 (adding the 14 new nations to the list) which would all be in the top quarter of the world in living standards. Now imagine what those dollars could do in the real economy, not spent on social welfare programs or the warfare state. What are you waiting for?

Source: http://thefireeater.com/2012/11/12/gdp-per-capita-comparisons/

It is time to Get Off The USS Titanic!