It's not about State vs State, it's about Cities vs. Rural areas. Cities were centers of trade and commerce, and common sense tells you that trade and commerce attracts more trade and commerce, because if you want to build a widget factory you're going to build it where the workers and cheap trade is.

This article despite being from Cracked does an excellent job of explaining exactly how it seems like half the country lost it's damn mind. You're right, a lot of right wing areas are shitholes, and it's because the rich elitist shitbags in cities refuse to help or even care. There are severe, reality destroying epidemics ravaging our smallest communities, and the reaction from people like you is to laugh and insinuate they deserve it.

Maybe those red states should pull themselves up by their bootstraps if they’re so convinced that conservative principles are the right way to go.

They could, but then you'd starve to death because there wouldn't be anyone to grow your food for you.