Does Tennessee business growth matter if no one enjoys living here?

Tennessee’s election season is in full swing, and a cursory view of Republican candidates’ campaign ads would have one think they were watching Saturday Night Live skits.

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, thought to be the frontrunner in the Republican gubernatorial primary, put out an ad laced with Asian stereotypes and racist dogwhistles, in which she crushes fortune cookies to symbolize taking a hardline stance against China. I guess no one told Blackburn that fortune cookies were an American creation.

On the congressional side, former U.S. Rep. Van Hilleary and state Rep. Johnny Garrett are vying for the Republican nomination for the 6th Congressional District. They seem to think the best way to do that is by competing to see who can out-bigot the other in their anti-LGBTQ+ ads featuring drag queens. (And here we were told by Tennessee Republicans that the whole idea was not to show drag queens to the broad public, but I guess it’s OK if doing so scores political points?)

While Republican candidates are busy trying to out-cringe each other, Tennesseans face real issues requiring actual leadership and thoughtful policies, because the Volunteer State is collapsing on the very metrics that made living here enjoyable.

CNBC’s “rude awakening” report is a dish best served cold

The Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC), which has historically sung Tennessee’s praises for the state’s pro-business policies, has published damning report after damning report in recent years, marking Tennessee’s fall from 3rd to 9th place in “America’s Top States for Business.”

What happened? It’s not that Tennessee stopped trying to attract businesses. It’s that the state has failed to do anything else.

In its July 9 report, CNBC ranked Tennessee 50th in the nation for Quality of Life, based on metrics like:

Crime rates. Tennessee records 592 violent crimes per 100,000 people, 64.9% higher than the U.S. average. The state’s Republican leadership has taken an increasingly harsh stance on crime, passing bills on truth in sentencing, mandatory minimum sentences, bail restrictions and juvenile transfers to adult court, with nothing to show for it but increasingly policed and surveilled communities and a growing prison population.

Worker protections. Economic output only happens when workers are willing to sell their labor to business owners, and CNBC knows this. A 2025 report by Oxfam put Tennessee at 48th in the nation for workers. Republican leadership’s refusal to raise the $7.25 minimum wage or to legislate family leave, sick leave, heat safety standards, child labor protections or collective bargaining protections is making the business landscape worse for workers.

Infant mortality in Tennessee remains persistently higher than national average

Air quality. While the wealthy can buy, filter and hoard water, everyone must breathe the same air, which influences a state’s quality-of-life rankings. Republican legislators are not kind to our air, giving us regulatory rollbacks, an end to mandatory vehicle emissions testing, state preemption of natural gas bans, and lax oversight (if any oversight) on high-emission industrial and fossil fuel operations.

Healthcare and reproductive rights. Tennessee Republicans’ obsession with passing anti-abortion bills and reproductive healthcare restrictions has led to maternity deserts and worsened maternal mortality: Tennessee ranks 48th out of the 48 states that report maternal mortality. Tennessee also has the nation’s highest number of rural hospital closures per capita.

Inclusivity. CNBC gives Tennessee an “F” on matters of inclusivity. Quoting CNBC’s report, “Tennessee Republicans, led by Gov. Bill Lee, make no apologies for a rash of state laws targeting the LGBTQ+ community, including a so-called ‘bathroom law’ requiring transgender people to use the facilities designated for their sex at birth. The state also explicitly bars localities from adopting their own anti-discrimination ordinances. To underscore the point, Lee signed a resolution earlier this year designating June ‘Nuclear Family Month.’”

As June kicks off Pride celebrations, Tennessee designates it ‘nuclear family month’

Tennessee’s population data is a warning sign for the future

Tennessee’s most ardent defenders of our Republican policymakers will point to the state’s population growth and suggest it’s proof-positive of good policy. But even this bedrock argument is showing cracks.

Tennessee’s population is still growing, and the state still experiences positive net migration. But it’s worth noting the number of people moving to Tennessee is declining, and the number of Tennesseans leaving is growing.

According to IRS data, In 2020, 176,000 people left the state, 185,000 left in 2022, 193,000 in 2023 and 196,000 in 2024. Meanwhile, domestic migration into Tennessee peaked in 2021, and it’s been trending downward ever since.

Are we going to be a state for businesses? Or for people?

The iconic blue, smoke-like haze cresting the Great Smoky Mountains in east Tennessee was once composed entirely of natural emissions from trees and other flora, but now it’s mixed with noxious sulfate particles from the burning of fossil fuels and coal at nearby power plants.

Hundreds of sleepy Tennessee towns in at least 22 rural counties no longer have healthcare access due to hospital closures, a death knell for these communities, as few Americans are willing to live in a town, no matter how beautiful and utopian, if they cannot reach an emergency room or maternity ward in under an hour.

Tennesseans used to pride themselves on their ability to put in an honest day’s work and support a family on that labor, but monthly expenses have surged past wage growth. And because Tennessee’s regressive tax policies rely heavily on sales and excise taxes rather than income tax, working-class residents spend a much larger percentage of their earnings on consumer goods than top earners do.

From the environment to healthcare to the economy, this is not the Tennessee anyone signed up for, which is why a growing number are leaving each year, including many who voted for the current electeds who’ve made the state unlivable.

For those of us willing to stay, it’s time to vote for candidates who treat politics like a public service, not a comedy skit.