Kansas!!!

If Kansas didn't exist there would be a big hole in the middle of the country. The U.S. would be a donut!!

I have to agree in all honesty that CA has the economic and cultural hub of America.

Seriously though, "even" the loss of Kansas would wreck the nation.

Kansas is the heart of wheat and cattle country. Every one farmworker there feeds 300 people worldwide. And not california raisins either; staples like wheat and beef.

If Kansas disappeared from the map, in addition to being a donut, the USA would suddenly not have food for 150 million of its people.

Which underscores my original post; the O.P. in which I said that we cannot survive without any of the states.

Lack of Rhode Island and Delaware would kill the insurance and incorporation business----and I'd have no where to send my credit card payments!

.

I would say that the most important state in the US right now is the state of denial...with state of confusion running a close second.

Although, it might not be such a bad thing if these two states were lost.

heh heh

Ok new Idea: What is the most worthless state in the union?

My vote goes to Idaho, North Dakota, or maybe Oregon?

Haha I'm all verklempt! Discuss amoungst yourselves

Originally posted by Pragmatist Centrist
Ok new Idea: What is the most worthless state in the union?

My vote goes to Idaho, North Dakota, or maybe Oregon?

Haha I'm all verklempt! Discuss amoungst yourselves

Once again, it depends on what you want to do with them.

The whole Idea of "utility rankings" is sort of like assigning people an "IQ" score. It's like saying a giant complex organism can be totally described by a 3 digit number, or in this case a "top 50" ranking.

If you want solitude and communion with nature, Idaho, NK and OR are excellent places to begin. Much better than Central Park in NY, or the Golden Gate park in SanFran.

Now, if you want to trade pork belly futures, you'll need Chicago or KCKS; singing showtunes will take you down broadway, the blues will take you to Memphis and Nollins. Skiiing will take you to sugarloaf or Telluride. Whitetail hunting might take you to western PA or central TX. Salmon fishing to AK, trout fishing to AR.

From sea to shining sea, people.

.

You want your oil, and your food, but you don't want to think about where it comes from.

You think food is impossible to grow in the NE? Funny, because I'm sure I see endless acres of corn everywhere I go in this state. I don't want any oil, but thank you for your concern.

Keep sticking that pole in the ground and praying for goo! (I think that's a Monty Burns quote from the Simpsons)

Nor can you imagine that anyone else enjoys a lifestyle dissimilar from yours. Some people like hunting, fishing, and a view of the horizon uncluttered with smokestacks and some burned-out warehouse district. We also like rivers you can drink from, or at least fish in.

You're presuming WAY too much about me, and where I live. I do enjoy hunting and fishing, and I really would enjoy a river to fish in (GE killed all of ours).

I don't know where you think I live, but I have a beautiful view of the mountains from every window in my house.

But never mind any other opinions; just keep telling yourself that its THE REST OF THE COUNTRY that's occupied by narrow-minded bigots.

Don't put words in my mouth. I said nothing of the sort. If anything, it's my opinion that there are narrow-minded bigots everywhere.

The most important US state would be Canada.

The most valuable state would have to be North Dakota--its, its, well we would miss it and besides it would be hard to draw a U.S. map without it.

As for the least valuable state, I would nominate Louisiana (or Mississippi), but with all the money we've been pouring in there we need to keep them around to protect our investment. Gosh, guess I'll have to go with California--we're gonna lose them anyway eventually so we might as well just trash them and get it over with. I could have said Washington, but I'm afraid Bill Gates might activate some secret bug in Windows that would do us all in.

[edit on 3-7-2006 by Astronomer70]

I'm torn between California and New York. California's bigger, but NY would hurt pretty bad too.

none of you have gotten it right yet...

North Carolina is the best....most valuable...

don't bother arguing, or else I'll have to post ALL my evidence...

it would be even better without the close minded republican idiots, but you have those in every state....

Most valuable: California for previous reasons listed

Most worthless: I vote florida.lol. Seriously,what does florida give to the u.s. that california doesnt already have? Sunny delight? smooth california style is always the favorite.

If you lose Arkansas, you lose Walmart (Sam Walton), Tyson Chicken, Bill Clinton and Razorback football. Arkansas has been one of the biggest impact states in the nation. Arkansas is the only state in the Union that if walls went up around if, it could survive. We have all the natural resources one could ask for. We have oil, agriculture, all the drinking water one could handle, different climates from north to south, diamonds, etc. Arkansas would be a horrific lose.

By the way, Texas is a pant load.

California, sorry if it was already posted, but if California was its own nation, it would be the third largest economy in the world.

Originally posted by dr_strangecraft

I have to agree in all honesty that CA has the economic and cultural hub of America.

Seriously though, "even" the loss of Kansas would wreck the nation.

Kansas is the heart of wheat and cattle country. Every one farmworker there feeds 300 people worldwide. And not california raisins either; staples like wheat and beef.

If Kansas disappeared from the map, in addition to being a donut, the USA would suddenly not have food for 150 million of its people.

Which underscores my original post; the O.P. in which I said that we cannot survive without any of the states.

Lack of Rhode Island and Delaware would kill the insurance and incorporation business----and I'd have no where to send my credit card payments!

.

Yes, even Kansas and the MidWest have wheat. Remember when Russia didn't have wheat? Even where I grew up in Louisiana, they had oil and gas, sugarcane, cotton, major ports, Mississippi River. I'm sure that every state has valuable resources. As far as being the most important, I don't know, maybe California, Texas or New York?

Kind of a silly topic, but some pretty good answers.

In terms of net contributor states, NY and CA produce a disproportionate percentage of GNP in relation to population. Removing them from the equation would reduce the US standard of living. It would also dramatically impact the country's ability to innovate.

Nevada. jeez..

Prostitutes, gambling, Nuclear testing.
What would you do without that, huh?

NEVADA most definately

Area 51 without that no defence against the Aliens

And don't forget even those 911 terrorists spent their last days and dollars here before meeting Allah

Massachusetts.

They show you how not to raise politicians.