Democrats and Independents predicted that red states would soon start experiencing a so-called "brain drain." The report from the Chronicle, published in September, seems to be becoming a reality.
It is already happening
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The New Republic's Timothy Noah explained in a piece from November 22, "Republican-dominated states are pushing out young professionals by enacting extremist conservative policies." The journalist added, "Abortion restrictions are the most sweeping example, but state laws restricting everything from academic tenure to transgender health care to the teaching of 'divisive concepts' about race are making these states uncongenial to knowledge workers."
Dubious polices
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MAGA policies, especially abortion rights (or lack thereof), as well as attempts to replace climate change and gender studies with religion, and teachers living in fear over alleged threats from far-right groups like Moms For Liberty, are raising concerns. Noah reminded, "State laws restricting everything from academic tenure to transgender health care to the teaching of 'divisive concepts' about race are making these states uncongenial to knowledge workers."
Texas is excluded
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The reporter explained why Texas is not among these red states, writing, " The only red state that brings in more college graduates than it sends elsewhere is Texas, but the evidence is everywhere that hard-right social policies in red states are making this dynamic worse."
A shameful example
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Noah wrote about doctors Kate Arnold and Caroline Flint, married women who fled to Washington, D.C., calling them "bright, energetic, professionally trained, and public-spirited." He noted, "The places that need Kate and Caroline are Oklahoma and Mississippi and Idaho and various other conservative states where similar stories are playing out daily. These two fortyish doctors have joined an out-migration of young professionals — accelerated by the culture wars of recent years and pushed to warp speed by Dobbs — that's known as the Red State Brain Drain."
Teachers are fleeing as well
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Teacher Tyler Hallstedt, according to Noah, left Tennessee for Michigan, adding that teachers in Texas have been "quitting at a rate that's 25 percent above the national average." At the same time, South Carolina has "teacher shortages in 17 subject areas this school year, more than any other state."
A reminder for Republicans
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The journalist reminded Republicans they, too, need college-educated people, saying, "They need them to deliver their babies, to teach their children, to pay taxes." He warned, "Red states should be welcoming Kate and Caroline and Tyler. Instead, they're driving them away, and that's already costing them dearly."
People mostly agree
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Reddit posters mainly agreed with the author, though some wanted a clearer picture and statistics, and it might be something worth looking into in the upcoming months, if not years.
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