Dear Editor,
I read a few of your reports for political people which took up quite a bit of space in the weekly NCT and I did not see any counter information or references for many of the statements provided. The gov of Arkansas said the Arkansas economy was growing, but "blue states were shrinking."
Based on Forbes (https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/average-salary-by-state/) Arkansas's average salary is among the lowest, while the "shrinking blue states" is among the highest. And from the Univ of Central Arkansas (https://uca.edu/acre/citizens-guide-wages/) states: "How does Arkansas rank nationally for wages?As of 2017, the District of Columbia led the nation with a real median hourly wage of $33.82, though DC is an outlier since it is entirely a metropolitan area (metro areas have higher wages than non-metro areas). States with high wages include Alaska at $22.86 and Massachusetts at $22.81. The states with the lowest real median hourly wages in 2017 were Mississippi at $14.46, Arkansas at $14.82, and West Virginia at $15.16.4 Nationally, the median wage across all occupations in 2017 was $18.12.5 "
How is it you can have LOW wages that make it difficult to live and yet, the "economy is growing" in Arkansas? .
As you probably know, one company owns many of the small newspapers in Missouri and Arkansas. Do your readers know that one corporation controls the media for many outlets? So through this, the corporation slips in non-contested pieces. You know when I see all the uncontested political articles I'm reminded more of China, North Korea and Russia who push out that "all is well" propaganda (all is well, except for our enemies).
BTW, I have a home in Mt. Judea and pay taxes to AR and Newton County.
Sincerely,
Rodney Cook
Huntingdon, United Kingdom
Cambridgeshire
