Responding to Harsh Critiques of the American South

Carol Guthrie, former assistant U.S. trade representative and current head of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Washington Center (OECD), responds to an October 7, 2014 article on the Washington Post's Wonkblog that proclaimed that the South is the "worst place to live in the U.S." The OECD wrote the report, titled "How’s Life in Your Region," that provided the ammunition for the Wonkblog article, and Guthrie, a resident of Chattanooga, Tennessee was compelled to respond:

It seemed less than ideal when Wonkblog suggested that OECD data had just condemned the American region that I come from as less livable than others. But what really struck a chord were the follow-up articles from publications such as the New Orleans Times-Picayune and the Anniston Alabama Star – stories that brought to the surface the conflicted feelings so many Southerners share:

We love our home but can never pretend it’s perfect.

It’s important to understand one thing: “How’s Life in Your Region,” our recent publication that served as the basis for the Wonkblog article, doesn’t actually offer any opinion about where it’s good or bad to live, whether in the South, Saskatchewan or East Slovenia.

Guthrie goes on to make the case that such reports are meant to inspire and inform, and that "many smart and dedicated policymakers across the South are already doing what the OECD encourages: advancing 'better policies for better lives.'"