Rural-voters-dont-understand-that-cities-subsidize-their-lives article makes no fucking sense

[bigtree]

NYT Opinion @nytopinion
To rural Americans, it seems our taxes mostly go to making city residents live better http://nyti.ms/2hTJFik

David Weiner ?@daweiner 2h2 hours ago
...this part of that rural-voters-don’t-understand-that-cities-subsidize-their-lives article makes no fucking sense.




David Weiner ?@daweiner 2h2 hours ago
The New York Times should’ve just run this comment instead of that stupid piece.

[Cha]

1. K&R

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

2. One of my friends worked on a campaign in Ohio in 2006

He was genuinely astonished that in a semi-rural area that was basically impoverished, where tax revenue was nearly non-existent that it was unquestioned dogma that they were naturally subsidizing all the welfare collecting drug addicts in Columbus, Cleveland and Cin-SIN-ati and just think of how low their taxes would be in they weren't paying people in the big cities to be drug addicts. All the tax revenue in the room probably wouldn't have paid for a set of traffic lights.

These people weren't paying $150 in State income tax a year but imagined some vacuum was sucking money out of their community to fund needle exchanges and welfare payments in big cities.

Even people who identified as Democrats didn't stray too far from this idea.

[diane in sf]

10. Ironically the real vacuum sucking money out of their town is Walmart, McDonalds, etc.

[leanforward]

3. We need more letters to the editor in the rural areas.

I agree completely with the above. I came from a rural area. Somehow, we need some "rabble rousers" out there. The DNC needs/must/should/has to look downstream.

The message must go out. A proud member of the loyal American opposition.

[Historic NY]

4. Rural voter taxes wouldn't pay for any of the services city residence pay for....

where the hell did they ever get that idea. I live adjacent to a small city that barely gets by because of absentee landlords, zombie properties, crime , etc. the city is the biggest landlord. There are bright spots amongst the gloom. They struggle for many reasons, my property taxes are less in the burbs but we don't have full time fire protection. Comparing budgets our budget is bigger because people expect nice roads, etc.The city has to devote a greater portion to crime & policing. They have some archaic financial burdens because they self-fund pensions, and self insure, some of these claims go on for decades, sucking the coffers dry. City and the surrounding burbs share the school tax burden, its is costly. 25yrs ago or more it wouldn't have when there were neighborhood city schools with in the various sections of the city. The decision to use busing and magnet schools greatly increased the tax burden for city landlords and residents. Poverty is a very large problem in the cities, it a burden the rural dweller rarely see's enmasse. Cities tend to be the dumping grounds for the downtrodden of society. Rural areas have their own unique problems but to say they pay is nuts.

[Johnathan146]

5. You are probably right

I live 5 miles ouside the city boundy. Saves me 2.1% on income tax and much lower property taxes. To be honest my cities finances are shit. I dont want to be tied up in that mess.

[HassleCat]

6. Watts is a heavy duty Christer.

Former football star. Not too smart, from what I have heard him say.

[leanforward]

7. Rural voters need education and information

I completely understand their hesitation on their tax dollars. Tax dollars flow from the urban areas to all of the rural areas. How does the DNC get the word out? HOW DOES the DNC get the WORD OUT?

The loyal American opposition.

[Kashkakat v.2.0]

8. Original post makes no sense - "this part of that" what???

[Duppers]

13. I agree. BigTree, please reword thread title.

Thanks.

As for reaching rural folks in red states, really? How? They are so indoctrinated that it seems impossible.

Red states receive far more federal dollars than do blue states:

http://www.businessinsider.com/red-states-more-dependent-on-federal-government-2015-7

[JI7]

9. They see a Non White Person making more than fed minimum wage for entry level , burger flipping etc

jobs .

they make more money because their city/state passed a higher than federal minimum wage law.

but these people see them making more and think "this black/brown person is just working at mcdonalds and making more than i do" . they must be taking from me .

yet THEY are the ones who vote for candidates who oppose raising minimum wage and many other things .

[Caliman73]

11. Republicans believe that people are bad?

I suppose maybe Black people and Brown people are fundamentally bad in their eyes.

If you stipulate that Watts represents the sentiments of other right wingers then it is a stupid and sad assumption. People are not born bad OR good. We are born with certain hardwired needs and drives. We are born with certain animal instincts, and with a great deal of capacity. We are the products of the relationships that are around us. Our families, our friends, our community all have a major influence on how we develop. If you are born into a family, a community, a society, a culture that has certain beliefs and practices, then you are highly likely to develop those same beliefs and practices. It isn't absolute but the probability is high.

I like how the pastor says that Democrats like to blame "other things" when things go wrong when Republicans always blame the devil or evil itself, or gays, or immigrants, or some other external factor. People who are more progressive tend to see that we are products of our environment and our choices are influenced by our perceived options. That does not mean that we excuse people for making destructive choices. It means that we understand that real opportunity and healthy options are relational, and not solely dependent on the individual.

All in all the article was interesting although flawed. It is an insight into the right wing brain though. I often tell my right wing relatives and acquaintances that right wingers tend to suffer from binary thinking, meaning that things are "either/or", good/bad, etc... when life is actually much more complicated and nuanced than those ideas. I suppose to a person with binary thinking, life is more simple and they can react/act more quickly because things are either/or.

[mackerel]

12. So Republicans are a religion too?

[Duppers]

14. Practically.

[applegrove]

15. Great comment.