Two political scientists, Paul Pierson and Jacob Hacker, argue that the path to prosperity lies through blue states, which invest in education, infrastructure and human services, rather than red states, which cut taxes and rely on extractive industry. The charts are interesting, particularly the one showing Washington state about the worst in nation in terms of taxing the top 1 percent. Pierson was recently at Seattle’s Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum, expounding on his new book, “American Amnesia,” which argues that we have forgotten the key role of government investment in producing durable prosperity. Other explanations for this ranking: red states are mostly in the economically sluggish South and blue states skew toward big cities, engines of new jobs.