Blue State Psychosis?

Proportion of psychologists higher in blue states, lower in red states

Correlation does not imply causality, I know. Nonetheless, the correlation exists:

The tens states (including the District of Columbia ) with the highest ratio of psychologists per 100,000 residents, were, with the exception of Colorado, all blue states which supported John Kerry (D.C, Vermont, Minnesota, Massachusetts, New York, Colorado, Illinois, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania, in rank order from one to ten). The ten states with the lowest ratio of psychologists per 100,000 residents, all were red states supporting Bush (Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Nevada, Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Kentucky, Indiana). Louisiana with the lowest ratio is listed first.

Economists will tell you that the number of psychologists per 100,000 residents is related to the percentage of the population who make use of their services. Psychologists, after all, do not work for free. Are there a higher percentage of people with mental health problems in blue states than red states? The listed red states have much higher regular church attendance ratios, by and large, than the listed blue states. Could religious affiliation be a factor in preserving mental health? Will Michael Newdow sue me for suggesting this?

Heh.

Now I know the article does imply this analysis demonstrates that blue-staters might have more mental issues than your average red-stater. Maybe the Dems see this as evidence their populations have better educations?

You wanna know what I see? Supply and demand. Knock it if you wish, but I think this does say something interesting in a demographic sense.