Apparently 37,276,000 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2007) Americans are not considered to be human, have no value and hence unworthy of any consideration in the formulation of policy.  Just as cats and dogs are regulated by the government for unacceptable behavior but are not the recipients of any government transfers, those living in poverty are perpetually mired in a morass of neglect and indifference by all levels of government who often discover that the only free "public housing tract" (Mumia Abu Jamal) available to them, is prison.

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The Every Child Matters Education Fund has released a report called "Geography Matters: Child Well-Being in the States." It assesses the vulnerability of children in all 50 states according to a dozen metrics.

As the mother of two small children in the Des Moines area, I had a particular interest in Iowa's ranking (seventh overall, mixed bag on the individual metrics).

But when I clicked on the page ranking all states in terms of "overall child vulnerability," one thing jumped out at me: the bottom 20 states all voted for George W. Bush in 2004. Of the top 20 states, only three voted for Bush (including Iowa, which he won by a very slim margin).

Follow me after the jump to learn the specific reasons that blue states are better places for children to be born and grow up.

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