OT: Wash. Post: Urban vs Rural Perspectives of America & Trump

[BigDrop]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/national/rural-america/?hpid=hp_rhp-top-table-main_no-name%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.7b1dda53de85 is the link for what I think is an extremely interesting, perhaps insightful feature on urban and rural perspectives of America and Trump.  This is the headline for Sunday and, on their website, it is entitled "Rural Divide."  It is long but absolutely absorbing reading.  Interesting comments such as "Christianity (may) be under siege" with so many new immigrants to the U. S.  

As many on this board know from my posts I am now retired.  But I travelled heavily all over the U. S. for more than 30 years, much of this driving.  I have friends from my industry that I still talk to regularly but, to be honest, I temper my political comments with.  What I may feel is appropriate for the D. C. suburbs or northern California is not tolerable in, say, West Texas or Ashland, Ohio/Kentucky.  But I deeply care about those I've know well for a literal third of a Century.

Please read the Post feature and comment on it.  I look forward to the responses.

Thank you.

[HawgGoneIt]

I wonder what type of answers they would have gotten from people that once lived in a city and moved to a rural setting and lived there for some length of time like a decade or more and vice-versa. 

I find that I have a bit of a unique perspective having lived in all three settings at points in my life. I don't find myself in full agreement with the people polled in hardly any of the areas covered. 

One place that I do agree is on urban areas appearing to get preferential treatment on infrastructure spending and other economic benefits over the rural areas.

Perhaps there is a per-capita formula used by the state to determine how money is allocated for infrastructure improvements or whatever though. I have never really investigated very deeply on that. 

For instance, U.S. hwy 133 from Valdosta to Albany which includes Moultrie was set for a widening in the neighborhood of around or over 10 years ago, but, somehow, the allocated funding for the project disappeared and supposedly was used in Atlanta metro improvement projects. It goes without saying that connecting 2 metro areas like Valdosta and Albany with additional lanes allows for additional traffic flow and increased commerce for all of the towns and cities included, which increases jobs and people in turn moving into these communities now that their commutes become easier to the larger urban areas.

Finally that expansion is ongoing, but the point remains that the funding was reallocated/misallocated from a rural to urban area, which basically stymied all of the obvious benefits to the rural areas for an extra decade plus.

Anyway, it is an interesting but not surprising poll on most of the areas touched on.

[HawgGoneIt]

I'll expand on my previous just to include the connection to possibly voting for one candidate over another for president as it pertains to those criteria.

 

Personally, I don't see how voting for either candidate in this past cycle would improve the allocation of funds for infrastructure to rural areas over metro areas etc. There was an obvious difference in the lip service on infrastructure albeit vague and blanket statements, which I guess could drive some people to make a decision based on the thought they would/could be covered under the blanket. 

I've learned that those decisions are generally made on the state and local levels as the federal investment is divvied out by state governments after being allocated as infrastructure grants from the federal coffers. 

So obviously, I wasn't driven to vote one way or the other over that infrastructure improvement rhetoric or lack thereof, depending on the candidate. 

I can see the attraction to one candidate over the other due to the foundation of these types of rhetoric being laid though. Once you start combining all of the areas covered in that poll, and seeing the way the two candidates did apply them to their speeches, and then add on the tired stories about "lack of empathy" for the rural folks by the godawful left elitists, then it's no surprise at all why we got the president we did. 

 

[TheRealCAJ]

10 hours ago, BigDrop said:

.

Please read the Post feature and comment on it.  I look forward to the responses.

Thank you.

I don't think there is really anything very new here.

Been this way for as long as I can remember.  The faces and personalities have changed though.

The one change that I have witnessed like never before is small town people will sell their souls to the devil like anyone else......these are the same people who vote against a Chili's Grill & Bar invading their small town because it would take business away from Small Town Diner who has been their 95 years..Of course they will drive 50 miles to a Chili's Grill & Bar a couple times a month though. 

[HawgGoneIt]

1 minute ago, TheRealCAJ said:

I don't think there is really anything very new here.

Been this way for as long as I can remember.  The faces and personalities have changed though.

The one change that I have witnessed like never before is small town people will sell their souls to the devil like anyone else......these are the same people who vote against a Chili's Grill & Bar invading their small town because it would take business away from Small Town Diner who has been their 95 years..Of course they will drive 50 miles to a Chili's Grill & Bar a couple times a month though. 

Ha!

 

I was going to go "there" too. Rural folks want it both ways don't they? 

They claim to love the rural life, and then fuss that there isn't the same opportunities for them as others. As soon as the traffic picks up and gets thick they are looking to move further out again so as to leave the growth and opportunities behind. 

 

[TheRealCAJ]

6 minutes ago, HawgGoneIt said:

Ha!

 

I was going to go "there" too. Rural folks want it both ways don't they? 

They claim to love the rural life, and then fuss that there isn't the same opportunities for them as others. As soon as the traffic picks up and gets thick they are looking to move further out again so as to leave the growth and opportunities behind. 

 

It's very true!