WalletHub's bullshit study ranks Massachusetts as the best state to live in

WalletHub published a bullshit study ranking Massachusetts as the best state to live in and Louisiana as the worst. I've lived in both states, and I can assure you that WalletHub got the story all wrong.

Massachusetts is not the best state to live in--it's the worst. Housing costs and taxes are high, and its citizens have a depressing tendency to elect idiots to public office. 

Elizabeth Warren, for example, is a native Oklahoman who couldn't get elected dogcatcher in her native state.  She landed a cushy job at Harvard Law School by claiming to be a Cherokee, and then the Bay State fools elected her to the U.S. Senate.

Louisiana, it is true, also attracts idiots to public office, but we don't take them seriously. We would never indulge in the fantasy that Elizabeth Warren is a viable presidential candidate. 

WalletHub ranked Louisiana as the worst state to live in; in fact, it's one of the best.  Let's look at cuisine. Massachusetts boasts of Boston baked beans, Yankee pot roast, and clam strips--vile dishes all.

In Louisiana, you can dine on jambalaya, boudin, crawfish etouffee, chicken-and-sausage gumbo, fried catfish, shrimp po'boys, Natchitoches meat pies, beignets, red beans and rice, and banana foster.

How about the people? I found most Massachusetts residents to be arrogant, mean-spirited, and provincial. There's a reason other New Englanders call them Massholes.

On the other hand, Louisianans are known the world over for their friendliness and hospitality. Its culture is so life-affirming and genial that some people say Louisiana is the only place where you can leave the United States without a passport. 

Sports and recreation? Who'd you rather root for--the New Orleans Saints or those friggin' New England Patriots? As for college football, Louisianaians have the LSU Tigers. Does Harvard even have a football team?

WalletHub also misanalyzed some other beautiful states. It ranked Texas as the 36th best place to live and Mississippi as one of the five worst states.

Space does not permit me to give these two states the robust defense they deserve. Thus, I will end this essay with just three questions: Which state has the best barbecue—Massachusetts or Texas? Which state is most friendly to deer hunting with dogs—Massachusetts or Mississippi?

Finally, which state has the worst regional accent? Massachusetts, of course. Actually, this was a trick question. People in Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi don't speak with an accent.

Boston in winter: Is this the best state to live in?

USA Today reports that millennials are having trouble buying cars and homes due to burdensome student loans---that ain't the half of it

According to a story published yesterday in USA Today, fewer millennials are able to buy cars and homes because they are burdened with high levels of student debt.

This problem is well documented. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that declining homeownership is partly due to student debt, and the American Enterprise Institute published a paper last December showing that student loans partly explain declining birth rates in the United States.

The USA Today story began by spotlighting Amanda Hill, a 27-year-old college graduate who amassed $90,000 in student-loan debt to get a bachelor's degree from Hampton University in Virginia. Ms. Hill said she is reluctant to take on any more debt because she owes so much on her student loans. Instead of buying a new car--the first major purchase for most college graduates--Ms. Hill bought a used Saturn for $500.

As USA Today reporter Susan Tompor reported, many millennials are constrained by their student loans from buying big-ticket consumer items. "Plain and simple," Tompor wrote, "many young consumers just aren't ready to consume."

But the plight of millennials is much worse than USA Today portrayed it. Not only are many young Americans unable to buy consumer goods because of their student loans, millions will never pay off their debt.

Let's look more closely at Amanda Hill's situation. She enrolled in an income-based repayment plan that set her monthly loan payments at only $200 a month. USA Today didn't report whether Hill is in a 20-year or a 25-year repayment plan, but it doesn't really matter.  If interest accrues at 5 percent (the current rate for federal student loans), Hill will have to pay $4,500 a year just to cover accruing interest.

But Hill is only paying $200 a month--or $2,400 a year. Thus, with each passing month, Hill's debt is growing larger. In three years or so, Hill will owe $100,000 even if she makes every payment on time.

USA Today did not disclose Hill's college major, her current salary, or her job title; but clearly, she must be working in a low-paying job to be making payments of only $200 a month on a $90,000 debt.

Hill might find a better job that will allow her to make larger monthly loan payments. But that will have to happen soon if Hill is going to be in a position to make payments large enough to cover accruing interest and pay down some of the principal on her debt.

The chances are very good that Amanda Hill will make regular monthly payments for 20 or 25 years under an income-based repayment plan and owe far more than she does now when her payment obligations come to an end. Her remaining debt will be forgiven, but she will get a huge tax bill because the IRS considers forgiven debt to be taxable income.

In short, Amanda Hill's problems are a lot more serious than an inability to buy a new car. She very well may be looking at a lifetime of indebtedness. That's a high price to pay for a bachelor's degree from Hampton University.