Among the issues most commonly discussed are individuality, the rights of the individual, the limits of legitimate government, morality, history, economics, government policy, science, business, education, health care, energy, and man-made global warming evaluations. My posts are aimed at intelligent and rational individuals, whose comments are very welcome.

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For "a human being, the question 'to be or not to be,' is the question 'to think or not to think.'" Ayn Rand

16 July 2008

State GDPs

In the last post on the G8, I presented the gross domestic products (GDP) of the nations with the 15 largest GDPs. Back in the heyday of the USSR, that country had separate representation of several of its "provinces" in the United Nations. If the United States were to have a similar separate representation of some of its states in the Gn, where n is some integer, California would certainly be represented and if the cut-off is maintained at the level of the GDP of Turkey as I suggested, then so would Texas and New York be represented. The GDPs in 2007 of the top ranked states, according to the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis, are:

1. California $1.813 Trillion
2. Texas $1.142
3. New York $1.103
4. Florida $0.735
5. Illinois $0.610
6. Pennsylvania $0.531
7. Ohio $0.466
8. New Jersey $0.465
9. North Carolina $0.399
10. Georgia $0.397
11. Virginia $0.383
12. Michigan $0.382
13. Massachusetts $0.352
14. Washington $0.311
15. Maryland $0.269
16. Minnesota $0.255

20. Colorado $0.236

29. Oklahoma $0.139

32. Kansas $0.117

50. Vermont $0.025

I have included the top states through Maryland where I live and through Minnesota, where I was born and which is of interest to my mother. Colorado, Oklahoma, and Kansas are included because family members live in those states. Vermont is added best it is the state with the smallest GDP, which may be attributable in part to its real name the Socialist People's Republic of Vermont, once governed by Howard Dean, now chairman of the Democratic National Committee. A note to Barack Obama: There are only 50 states, not something in excess of the 57 states you claim to have campaigned in!

Florida's GDP is a bit smaller than that of Australia or Iran, but a bit bigger than that of Taiwan. The Illinois GDP is a bit smaller than that of Poland, but rather larger than that of Saudi Arabia. Pennsylvania ranks a bit behind Saudi Arabia, but ahead of Argentina. Ohio and New Jersey match of well with South Africa and Pakistan and ahead of Egypt. North Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia are smaller than Egypt in GDP, but bigger than Belgium. Maryland's GDP is smaller than that of Hong Kong and Nigeria, but larger than that of the Czech Republic or Norway. The GDP of Oklahoma exceeds that of Kuwait, or Morocco, or New Zealand. The Vermont GDP is a bit smaller than that of Cambodia or that of Botswana! But even Vermont can take heart, since its GDP is larger than that of Georgia. The nation of Georgia, not the state of Georgia.

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