Teen Welfare and Politics: A Colorful Tale

Political scientists have discovered an interesting pattern among Americans. White teens whose families received welfare tend to become Democrats later in life. However, the same doesn't hold true for non-white teens; they might even lean less toward the Democratic party as adults. This isn't about borders, but let's talk about that too! Moving between US states is supposed to be easy, right? Not so fast! People are three times more likely to move within their birth state than cross state lines, even if the distance is the same. Why? It seems like people just feel more attached to where they were born. This attachment has a downside though – it makes job markets less flexible. After the Great Recession, areas with lots of locals saw slower employment recovery. Now let's chat about abortion access. In liberal Cook County, Illinois, residents generally support abortion rights. But when asked if neighbors from other states should come for abortion services, people said "not in my backyard" (NIMBY)! They wanted to make it harder compared to those who were just asked about Illinois in general. In 2018, China retaliated against US tariffs by targeting crop exports. The Trump administration tried to help farmers but didn't always get the amounts right. Some got too much, others too little – a natural experiment for Stanford researchers. They found that farmers, mostly Republicans, were more politically active after this trade war experience, even if they weren't fully compensated. Lastly, labeling matters! People see woman-owned businesses as more competent and offering higher service quality when the business clearly says "woman-owned. "