And what tax base they DO have consistently refuses to be taxed. It’s a death spiral. We need people to live in the sticks because that’s where we grow our food, but this isn’t sustainable if they keep voting the way they do.
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Rural folks didn’t ask for the interstate to show up and make their hometowns obsolete.
aug 30, 2025, 3:19 pm • 0 0 • view
Yes they did. read a book
aug 30, 2025, 3:21 pm • 26 0 • view
Super. Recommend one.
aug 30, 2025, 3:39 pm • 0 0 • view
I see you just want to snark rather than have a conversation. So for the other people reading this, take time to read up on the interstates. The system has made the US tons of money, but dollars don’t equal quality of life. (Look around in 2025 to see for yourself.)
aug 30, 2025, 4:13 pm • 0 0 • view
I agree that there have been many benefits to society thanks to the interstate. But that has to be considered alongside the effect on small towns that automatically become tossed aside. Read the paragraph about Peach Springs, AZ, in this article. www.richmondfed.org/publications...
aug 30, 2025, 4:13 pm • 0 0 • view
All that to say, it’s not a terrible thing for wealthier states to help pay for hospitals in red, rural areas. Maybe some time as you’re driving past, you’ll have use for some emergency medical care, and you might want the infrastructure to be in place for your care.
aug 30, 2025, 4:13 pm • 0 0 • view
Those of us in wealthier states _were_ helping pay for those hospitals. Then a majority of voters decided to vote in a regime that’s stripped this & much more funding from all manner of things. It’s very hard to help pay for things when folks decide they don’t want us to do so 🤷🏻♂️
aug 30, 2025, 4:17 pm • 8 0 • view
We are all mad at my neighbors, yes. So, for the sake of righting this ship, do I move away (because I can) and let the people I leave behind flounder? There is value in remaining and investing in the people where you are—wherever you are.
aug 30, 2025, 4:23 pm • 1 0 • view
Don’t make me an enemy. I’m just trying to determine what I can influence just like you are.
aug 30, 2025, 4:23 pm • 0 0 • view
It’s not about making you an enemy. At a certain point, you have to let people have what they asked for. I don’t know how to explain to some folks, like my own brother, that we should all care about other people, b/c as you rightfully pointed out, one day you might be the person in need.
aug 30, 2025, 4:26 pm • 3 0 • view
if you don't like the choice you have in front of you, be mad at *them* for forcing a bad choice on you instead of the people advising you on how to make it
aug 30, 2025, 4:29 pm • 2 0 • view
I think you should respect them enough to let them enjoy what they asked for, instead of paternalistically assuming that you know what's best and you're the one who's going to save them.
aug 30, 2025, 11:27 pm • 0 0 • view
Same logic applies for the 2024 election, right? I’m not saving anyone. But I’m interested in not losing my local hospital. 🤷♀️
aug 30, 2025, 11:46 pm • 0 0 • view
Highway system doesn’t make money. It’s another example of a red state subsidy www.congress.gov/crs-product/...
aug 30, 2025, 4:35 pm • 2 0 • view
Start here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interst... www.fhwa.dot.gov/interstate/b... States owned the building, maintenance and design of their parts of the system!
aug 30, 2025, 4:07 pm • 9 0 • view
I see we are writing at the same time. I’ll read yours. Don’t write me off so quickly
aug 30, 2025, 4:14 pm • 0 0 • view
When I was in WV, a county was screaming about how the books their kids used were so old that Clinton was still President. (Obama had been elected). The county reached out to the publisher, made a deal, and then told the voters it would cost a household tax levy of $1. It failed by > 80 points.
aug 30, 2025, 3:29 pm • 117 7 • view
It absolutely breaks my heart. I was raised hella rural and I love living in the sticks but the politics are atrocious.
aug 30, 2025, 3:35 pm • 37 0 • view
I grew up in a small town as well, and it never made sense how they thought refusing to fund anything was the solution to why there were no jobs available and no new businesses would show up. If you're not willing to invest in your town, no one else will either.
aug 30, 2025, 3:37 pm • 63 3 • view
YUP. Mind boggling. Even worse, if you know how to pitch progressive policies they’re really into them! And then they turn around and say no and I just want to shake the shit out of them.
aug 30, 2025, 3:40 pm • 4 0 • view
Empirical evidence vs pre-conceived notion.
aug 30, 2025, 4:23 pm • 3 0 • view
But, it's my town, and only I can profit.
aug 30, 2025, 3:41 pm • 13 0 • view
it's way past time to start calling it what it is: entitlement
aug 30, 2025, 4:27 pm • 15 0 • view
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaPI...
aug 30, 2025, 4:02 pm • 0 0 • view
📌
aug 31, 2025, 1:48 am • 0 0 • view