I’m also not too sure about what is the ultimate goal the US proposes as a society.
It seems as if poor states want to stay poor and don’t want to attract talent. I mean, if I would be choosing a place to go, I would try to avoid states with draconian laws. But I get it. None of this will stop people from wanting to live in Miami or Dallas or Houston, I guess. And ultimately it seems to me that people use each other as a measuring tool. So it doesn’t matter they don’t have an optimal life, only that their lives are better than someone else’s (women, POC). And I suppose this is how they justify their existence.