The Most Dishonest State in America is Exactly What You Think
The beverage brand Honest Tea, which fittingly prides itself on its honesty and transparency, conducted an experiment to determine which states are most — and least —honest in the nation.
Beginning on July 8 and continuing through July 18, the company displayed unmanned kiosks in every state throughout the nation as well as the District of Columbia. Each kiosk was stocked with Honest Tea beverages and a sign that asked each person who took a beverage to leave $1. The company compared how much money it received to the amount of beverages that were taken and was thus able to discern which states’ customers engaged in the honor system with actual integrity, and which states’ customers didn’t.
In an unsurprising result, Washington D.C. was ultimately named the most dishonest place in the nation, with only 80% of the experiment’s participants leaving the requested money. This percentage is 12 points lower than the national average.
It seems as though the trademark deceitfulness and scheming that many Americans have come to expect from their government officials is now reinforced by empirical data. Indeed, the nation’s capitol is as corrupt as many Americans already suspected.
This microcosmic experiment admittedly was not aimed at solely politicians and government officials, and it isn’t reflective of every person who lives in the city, nor is any of the data for that matter, but the irony that surrounds the result is glaring and unavoidable.
In revealing Washington's inability to pay for its drinks when no one is looking, Honest Tea's experiment provided a perfect example for why the checks and balances in the U.S. constitution are so pivotal. We as a nation clearly cannot trust our elected leaders to behave when there's no one ensuring that they are, or no ramifications for when they're not.
Perhaps the nation should move it's capitol to Alabama or Hawaii, then there might finally be some earnest governing.
Below are the full state rankings:
State/City
% HONEST
Alabama
100%
Hawaii
100%
Indiana
99%
Maine
99%
Iowa
98%
Nevada
98%
Oklahoma
98%
Tennessee
98%
Alaska
96%
Arkansas
96%
California
96%
Nebraska
96%
New Jersey
96%
North Dakota
96%
Oregon
96%
Washington
96%
Ohio
95%
Vermont
95%
Virginia
95%
Illinois
94%
Minnesota
94%
South Carolina
94%
Wyoming
94%
Colorado
93%
Georgia
93%
Massachusetts
93%
Montana
93%
New Hampshire
93%
Rhode Island
93%
Wisconsin
93%
Florida
92%
Michigan
92%
Missouri
92%
New York
91%
Pennsylvania
91%
Idaho
90%
Kansas
90%
New Mexico
90%
North Carolina
90%
South Dakota
90%
Connecticut
89%
Maryland
89%
Delaware
88%
Utah
88%
Kentucky
87%
Texas
87%
West Virginia
85%
District of Columbia
80%
Louisiana
*
Arizona
*
Mississippi
*
*
Not large enough Sample Size
Total
Average
92%
