I like this actually - let different states try different things, and see how they work out. As the results become more certain, states will feel pressure to adopt the policies that are working well. And there's still room for different states to retain different policies that are better suited to them individually.

Exactly. Just like the pressure of being the last state in basically every single metric has empowered Mississippi to turn things around. Oh wait what? Mississippi is more fucked up than ever and shows zero signs of ever joining a civilized nation? Maybe they just haven’t hit rock bottom quite hard enough. Surely then conservative politics will turn things around!