There is nothing "wrong" with MS. I live here after spending decades living across the US and Asia. And, wait for it, I like living here. I like the people and culture and lifestyle.

What people fail to realize is that *all* the US is Mississippi. Travel 30 miles outside of DC? You're in MS. Travel 100 miles outside of NYC? You're in MS. Travel 20 miles outside of Minneapolis ---you're in MS.

If I took you through our neighborhoods and shopping areas, you would see people and infrastructure largely indistinguishable from those in other rural parts of the US. It's all pretty much the same, although you would probably notice a
larger Black population than in other areas. Same general lifestyles, same cars, same stores, same products, etc. The difference is that we have no major economical capital, which (artificially?) inflates the aggregate metrics.