The 10 most miserable states in the USA...

Of the 10 states with the lowest well-being scores, five are located in the South — a reality since the survey began.

Perhaps the most common shared factor among the states that report the lowest well-being is poor health. Nine of the states on this list are among the 15 states with the lowest life expectancy. Obesity is exceptionally high in seven. Seven also fall within the top 10 states that have the highest rates of smoking. Rates of heart disease, cancer and diabetes are also all particularly high.

In addition to the information from Gallup, 24/7 Wall St. used data from the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Social Science Research Council, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

These are America’s most miserable states.

11. Nevada
> Well-being index score: 65
> Life expectancy: 77.6 (14th lowest)
> Obesity: 22.4% (2nd lowest)
> Median household income: $51,001 (19th highest)
> Adult population with high school diploma or higher: 84.7% (15th lowest)

Nevada had the lowest score in the well-being basic access category, which measures how residents feel about access to basic necessities, such as access to a doctor, having enough money for food and satisfaction with one’s community or area. This may not be surprising when considering that Nevada currently has an unemployment rate of 12.6% — the highest in the country. The state was among the worst hit by the housing crisis, with home prices dropping 60% since their peak in the first quarter of 2006. Again, this is the worst in the country. An additional burden on those living in Nevada is the violent crime rate. In 2010, there were 660.6 incidents of violent crime per 100,000 residents, the highest rate in the nation.


10. Tennessee
> Well-being index score: 65
> Life expectancy: 76.2 (8th lowest)
> Obesity: 30.8% (9th highest)
> Median household income: $41,461 (6th lowest)
> Adult population with high school diploma or higher: 83.6% (21st lowest)

Since last year, Tennessee residents feel their situation has gotten significantly worse. The state’s already-poor scores in the well-being categories that measure life evaluation, emotional health and physical health have all declined in 2011 compared to 2010. The state’s economy is in very poor shape. Unemployment is above the national average, the poverty rate is the 10th highest in the country and median income is the sixth-lowest in the country. Physical health and healthy behavior, two categories measured by the index, are among the poorest. Tennessee residents have the 14th-highest rate of smoking in the country. The obesity rate is ninth-highest rate in the country with 30.8% of residents considered obese. The state also has the fifth-highest rate of heart disease in the country.

9. Florida
> Well-being index score: 64.9
> Life expectancy: 79.7 (12th highest)
> Obesity: 26.6% (23rd lowest)
> Median household income: $44,409 (15th lowest)
> Adult population with high school diploma or higher: 85.5% (17th lowest)

Florida’s state of well-being dropped significantly from last year, moving the state’s rank from 12th worst to ninth worst. The state had among the lowest scores in the well-being category that measures the work environment. Many Floridians do not have any work, as the state has the sixth-highest unemployment rate — currently 9.9%. State residents also are relatively unhealthy in many aspects when compared to other states. Florida has the eighth-highest rates of both heart disease and diabetes. The state also has one of the highest rates of violent crime in the U.S.


8. Missouri
> Well-being index score: 64.8
> Life expectancy: 77.4 (12th lowest)
> Obesity: 30.5% (10th highest)
> Median household income: $44,301 (14th lowest)
> Adult population with high school diploma or higher: 86.9% (22nd lowest)

Between 2010 and 2011, Missouri’s well-being score went from 17th worst in the country to eighth worst. Conditions in the state declined in every category Gallup measured. Missouri residents polled rated their emotional health as 14th worst in the country, down from 25th worst last year. The state also declined from 18th worst in life evaluation to third worst in the country. The state has the 11th-highest rate of smokers in the country at 21.1%. Heart disease, cancer and diabetes rates are all among the top 20, and life expectancy in the state is 77.4 years, the 12th lowest in the U.S.

7. Arkansas
> Well-being index score: 64.7
> Life expectancy: 76.1 (6th lowest)
> Obesity: 30.1% (12th highest)
> Median household income: $38,307 (3rd lowest)
> Adult population with high school diploma or higher: 82.9% (7th lowest)

Arkansan median household income is $38,307, the third lowest amount in the country. The share of residents living below the poverty line is 18.45%, the third highest in the country. Residents have a particularly low life expectancy of 76.1 years. The state has the fourth highest rate of smokers at 22.9% of adults, and it has the has the sixth-highest rate of cancer. Arkansas also has among the 10 lowest rates of adults with at least a high school diploma, and it is in the top 10 for violent crime.

6. Alabama
> Well-being index score: 64.6
> Life expectancy: 75.2 (3rd lowest)
> Obesity: 32.2% (3rd highest)
> Median household income: $40,474 (5th lowest)
> Adult population with high school diploma or higher: 82.1% (6th lowest)

Alabama is one of the poorest states in the U.S. In 2010, median income was just $40,474, the fifth lowest in the country, and 17.4% of the population lives below the poverty line. And state residents asked in the poll certainly feel it. The state is among the 20 worst for every category measured in Gallup’s well-being index, and is among the 10 worst for physical health, healthy behavior and work environment. This is easily explained when considering that Alabama has the third-highest rate of obesity in the country, with just under a third of the population considered overweight. The state also has the seventh-highest rate of heart disease, the seventh-highest rate of cancer, and the highest rate of heart disease. Alabama also has the third-lowest life expectancy in the U.S., at just 75.2 years.

5. Ohio
> Well-being index score: 64.5
> Life expectancy: 77.5 (13th lowest)
> Obesity: 29.2% (16th highest)
> Median household income: $45,090 (17th lowest)
> Adult population with high school diploma or higher: 88.1% (24th highest)

Ohio ranks within the 10 least well-off states in four of the six categories considered by Gallup in its Well-Being Index. This includes life evaluation, emotional health, healthy behavior and work environment. The state ranks quite poorly when it comes to health metrics, as it has among the highest rates of cancer, diabetes and smoking in the country. Its residents’ life expectancy is also relatively low, at 77.5 years. Median household income is fairly low in the state and the poverty rate is somewhat high; yet neither of these metrics are among the country’s worst.


4. Delaware
> Well-being index score: 64.2
> Life expectancy: 78.3 (23rd lowest)
> Obesity: 28.0% (20th highest)
> Median household income: $55,847 (10th highest)
> Adult population with high school diploma or higher: 87.7% (24th lowest)

Delaware’s overall life satisfaction rank fell from seventh worst in the country in 2010 to fourth worst in 2011. The biggest reason for this was a major decline in self-reported health. Delaware’s physical health rank fell from 24th worst in the country to tenth worst. The state is among the 25 worst for diabetes, heart disease and obesity, and has the 11th highest rate of cancer. Delaware also has the worst score in the country for Gallup’s work environment ranking, which measures elements such as job satisfaction, the ability to use one’s strengths at work and the way supervisors treat their employees. Delaware also has the third-highest violent crime rate in the country.

3. Mississippi
> Well-being index score: 63.4
> Life expectancy: 74.8 (the lowest)
> Obesity: 34.0% (the highest)
> Median household income: $36,851 (the lowest)
> Adult population with high school diploma or higher: 81.0% (3rd lowest)

Mississippi is the poorest state in the nation by a number of metrics. Its median household income is $36,851, which is the lowest in the country. It also has the highest poverty rate in the country at 21.8%. Mississippi has among the lowest rates of adults with a high school diploma or more. Health is also a major issue in the state. Mississippi has the lowest life expectancy in the country, at 74.8 years — almost four years less than the national average. Mississippi has the highest obesity rate in the nation at 34%. It also has among the five highest rates of diabetes, heart disease, cancer and tobacco use among states. It is no wonder that Mississippi residents feel so poorly as measured by the third-lowest well-being score.


2. Kentucky
> Well-being index score: 63.3
> Life expectancy: 76.2 (7th lowest)
> Obesity: 31.3% (5th highest)
> Median household income: $40,062 (4th lowest)
> Adult population with high school diploma or higher: 81.9% (5th lowest)

For the second year in a row, Kentucky’s well-being score is the second lowest. Residents consider themselves among the worst-off in the country in life evaluation, healthy behavior and both physical and emotional health. The state is relatively poor, financially speaking, with the fourth-lowest median household income and the fourth-highest rate of poverty. Residents have a low level of education compared to many other states, as only 81.9% of adults have at least a high school diploma — the fifth-lowest rate. The state also has a low life expectancy and among the highest rates of smoking, obesity and heart disease, as well as the highest rate of cancer in the country.

1. West Virginia
> Well-being index score: 62.3
> Life expectancy: 75.2 (2nd lowest)
> Obesity: 32.5% (2nd highest)
> Median household income: $38,218 (2nd lowest)
> Adult population with high school diploma or higher: 83.2% (8th lowest)

West Virginia residents feel the most miserable in the country. It appears that they have many reasons to feel this way. The state is particularly poor. It has the second-lowest median household income in the country at $38,218, and the sixth-highest rate of poverty. Residents also face a number of health issues. More than one in 10 West Virginians have had a heart attack or suffer from coronary artery disease — the highest rate in the country. The state has the third-highest rates of cancer and diabetes. It also has the highest rate of smokers, with 26.8% of adults indulging in the habit. It has the second-highest rate of obesity. These problems affect life expectancy, which at 75.2 years in West Virginia is the lowest in the country.

No Big Govt; Less Taxes; Stop Subsidies... I mean unless they're agricultural or for the oil industry; squeals TEXAS!!! The lone star state with its hand out.

Farm Subsidies….Gaines County Texas 2^nd largest recipient of Federal Agricultural Funding but votes against Federal Handouts … hmm like farm subsidies…”oh no, we deserve those!”

The political shift hasn’t stopped the flow of payments to the county’s cotton and peanut growers who have relied on aid dating to the 1930s Dust Bowl and Great Depression. Gaines County farmers took $797 million in payments from 1995 to 2010, including price supports, soil-conservation programs and crop- failure compensation, according to a database compiled by Washington-based lobby the Environmental Working Group. That puts it second in the nation behind Fresno County, California, as a recipient of federal funds.

Farmers use the programs mainly to give banks confidence that the loans to finance planned crops will be paid back regardless of weather or commodity prices, says Delmon Ellison, Jr. who farms 4,000 acres of cotton, peanuts and wheat in the area.

Office of Ethics

Tough new limits proposed on the way special interests could court executive branch officials have prompted a fierce counterattack from lobbyists who fear they will end a cherished Washington ritual: hosting federal workers at events like conferences, cocktail parties, galas and movie screenings.

Filmmakers and farmers, gun makers and real estate agents, and people in dozens of other industries say the rules under consideration by the Obama administration would choke off their ability to have a mutually beneficial dialogue with government officials. As a result, they say, public policy would be made in a vacuum, and federal rules would be more unrealistic and unworkable.

The proposal would extend restrictions now on political appointees to more than two million government workers. Federal employees could no longer accept “gifts of free attendance” at the many seminars, receptions and other social gatherings held by registered lobbyists and lobbying organizations as a matter of course in Washington.

In issuing the proposal under instructions from President Obama, the Office of Government Ethics said lobbyists often used such events to curry favor with federal employees.

The ethics office, which is now weighing the response to the proposal it made last September, said lobbyists had used these gatherings not only to discuss business with federal employees, but also to “foster a social bond that may be of greater use in the long run.”

Watchdog groups like the Project on Government Oversight, the Government Accountability Project and Common Cause welcomed the proposal, saying it would help break up the cozy relationships between federal regulators and regulated industries.  

Bill passed into LAW banning Congress from Insider Trading!!!

I wanted to give you some good news about the bill banning insider trading in Congress that you took action on a few months back.

This week, the President signed that bill into law, making members of Congress play by the same rules as everyone else when it comes to investing. Before this week, it was -- amazingly -- not against the law for members of Congress to profit off of the insider information they pick up on Capitol Hill.

Hundreds of thousands of Americans like you stepped up and played a role in passing the STOCK Act, so thanks for standing with the President.
President Obama promised that he would work to change the old ways of Washington, and this is what that change looks like. There's still more that we have to do, obviously, but thanks to your support, we've made a step in the right direction.

US Coal Exports to China & India => you can feel it

Although the government's message about squeezing coal out of U.S. electricity production is loud and clear, coal producers will be able to ship their product abroad.

Even now, Congress is hinting at banning U.S. natural gas exports. They want to keep prices as low as possible for as long as they can — and that means limiting future LNG shipments.

Safe Chemicals Act

Did you know that the EPA is required to test only a few hundred of the 85,000 different chemicals currently on the market? In fact, the federal law governing how we regulate chemicals doesn’t even require chemical companies to prove that the chemicals they make are safe before they end up in products.

This means that on a daily basis we are at risk of being exposed to dangerous, cancer-causing chemicals. These harmful chemicals may be in our workplaces, our classrooms and our homes – in our clothing, furniture, cleaning products, plastics, cosmetics, children’s toys and countless other everyday products.

In response, we’re working with a coalition of organizations and activists from across the country to collect 100,000 signed petitions in support of the Safe Chemicals Act, which would take meaningful steps to protect our families from harmful chemicals.

The Toxic Substances Control Act, the nation’s primary chemical safety law, has failed to protect public health, the environment and our communities. While the rates of diseases like asthma, diabetes, childhood cancers, infertility, and learning and behavioral disorders keep going up, the federal system that should protect us from harmful chemicals hasn’t changed in 35 years.

The reason for this inaction? The chemical industry is vigorously fighting to protect its profits.

For decades, the chemical industry has fought efforts to reform our nation’s chemical safety laws. Last year, the industry spent $52 million lobbying Congress to block meaningful reform efforts. And just recently, they spent another $1.5 million on deceptive television ads to mislead and confuse the public about the severity of the problem.

Pension Funds should make money the old fashioned way = save it; invest in risk free assets and not gamble with workers' prosperity

Pensions Find Riskier Funds Fail to Pay Off

Searching for higher returns to bridge looming shortfalls, public workers’ pension funds across the country are increasingly turning to riskier investments in private equity, real estate and hedge funds. 

But while their fees have soared, their returns have not. In fact, a number of retirement systems that have stuck with more traditional investments in stocks and bonds have performed better in recent years, for a fraction of the fees. 

Consider the contrast between the state retirement fund for Pennsylvania and the one for Georgia.

The $26.3 billion Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System has more than 46 percent of its assets in riskier alternatives, including nearly 400 private equity, venture capital and real estate funds. 

The system paid about $1.35 billion in management fees in the last five years and reported a five-year annualized return of 3.6 percent. That is below the 8 percent target needed to meet its financing requirements, and it also lags behind a 4.9 percent median return among public pension systems. 

In Georgia, the $14.4 billion retirement system, which is prohibited by state law from investing in alternative investments, has earned 5.3 percent annually over the same time frame and paid about $54 million total in fees. The two funds represent the extremes, with Pennsylvania in a group of pension systems with some of the highest percentages of investments in alternatives and Georgia in a group of 10 with some of the lowest, according to groupings of funds identified by the London-based research firm Preqin. 

An analysis of the sampling presents an unflattering portrait of the riskier bets: the funds with a third to more than half of their money in private equity, hedge funds and real estate had returns that were more than a percentage point lower than returns of the funds that largely avoided those assets. They also paid nearly four times as much in fees. 

While managers for the retirement systems say that a five-year period is not long enough to judge their success, those fees nevertheless add up to hundreds of millions of dollars each year for some of the country’s largest pension funds. The $51.4 billion Pennsylvania public schools pension system, for instance, which has 46 percent of its assets in riskier investments, pays more than $500 million a year in fees. It has earned 3.9 percent annually since 2007.

Hiring is BACK!

Hiring is back in a big way on many college campuses, one of several signs a recovery in the U.S. jobs market is gaining traction. After four years during which many students graduated to find no job and had only their loans to show for their studies, most college campuses are teeming with companies eager to hire.

A survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) found 2012 hiring is expected to climb 10.2 percent, above a previous estimate of 9.5 percent.

Companies such as General Electric, Amazon, Apple and Barclays Global are looking for new staff, even if some firms remain below the pre-recession levels of new hiring. In another sign of the recovery, some first-time job seekers are receiving multiple offers.

At University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, the career service office has seen up to now a 7.4 percent increase in the number of interviews of students by potential employers from last year and the number of companies seeking to recruit for full-time jobs is up 9.2 percent.

Undergraduate business majors reporting full-time job offers is up about 10 percent.

Career experts at a dozen of U.S. schools said they have seen an increase of 15 to 30 percent in the number of companies attending campus career fairs. At University of Florida, the fall career fair garnered 15 percent more companies in attendance than in 2010.

And 150 companies asked to conduct interviews versus about 100 in recent years, said Ja'Net Glover, associate director of employer relations at the school.

The increase in demand was so significant that it was the first time in years the school had to use both the first and second floors of the school's basketball facility for interviews.