General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Regarding things from the south. [View all]rrneck
(17,671 posts)If they're smart they'll get their shit together before people start dragging them out of their houses and stringing them up. But the reality is that you don't go from average middle class to CEO millionaire all in one leap. There is a strata of people who make a good living, better than most, who will find that if we actually decide to help the poor in this country it will cost them. That strata is shrinking because wealth is accelerating upward all the time, but nevertheless the urban centers on the east and west coast have a lot of people who will have to lose money to make the country better.
The same holds true for the states that give more to the federal government than they get. The irony that southerners distrust the government while their states get more federal money than they give is old hat around here. That disparity is as it should be. Wealth is being concentrated in blue states at the expense of the red states. Economic parity means that the blue states will have to give up a boatload of money. One of the earliest political observations I remember from my dad was when he said, "The roads around the county road supervisor's house always get fixed first." Culture, education, and infrastructure follow money. And the money is concentrated in the north.
The best thing about what you do is that you are personally doing it. Real people see another real person helping them. Too many of us think our civic responsibilities don't extend beyond clicking a MoveOn link. It means more than just feeding people. I had an English professor in college that was from Oregon. He was a tree hugging hippie and a bit of a novelty in the south. In the early days of recycling they had those cardboard boxes with three holes for soda cans all over the place. After class as we walked along, he would pick up cans and put them in the box. He wouldn't say anything and he didn't do it to shame anyone. It's just something he did. And the magic is that you found yourself doing it too. That's where real social change happens.
When I look at a map like this, I see a map of where the money is.
With rankings by state, congressional district and racial/ethnic group, the index provides a snapshot of where different groups stand today and sets a benchmark for evaluating progress over time. The study shows that there are enormous disparities across America in the distribution of health, education, and income.
The map below shows overall rankings by state. Use this interactive map to create custom maps by state, district, metro area, and by race within each state including earnings, educational achievement, life expectancy and many more.
http://www.pbs.org/now/fixing-the-future/well-being.html
I'm not trying to give you a hard time, and I appreciate the work you do in the community. But most of those really dark spots on that map would not be there if liberal ideology were actually put into practice in this country. And those spots are in notably blue states. Carpetbaggers haven't gone away. They just have different luggage.
This one ran a bit long. Hope it wasn't too laborious.