Small Town Rural America Has Been Screwed

[DBA]

I've been on a road trip that I've wanted to do for a very long time.

I drove east to Illinois then am driving southwest to the Pacific Ocean on what's left of Route 66.

That road, or what's left of it, goes through small town rural America.

I've gone through ghost town after ghost town. The towns that aren't abandoned are so deeply depressed it's painful and shameful to see.

Small town rural America has been totally screwed and abandoned by both our government and our citizens.

I understand now why so many republicans are so angry. I don't understand why they can't see why they have been screwed so badly and by whom.

Most of the states and all of the towns are controlled by republicans. People keep voting for them because of social issues like gay marriage and because they don't make much money and wrongly seem to believe that tax cuts are the answer to their financial problems.

Tax cuts have only totally screwed small town rural America. Their roads are so bad. I mean so bad that there were times the rough road and wind has my car literally bouncing down the road. When was the last time their roads were paved? The poverty is just terrible.

This is the result of keeping wages low, no regulation on business and trillions in tax cuts for the rich and big business.

Capitalism is making it worse because there's no money to be made in those areas so they are abandoned by business which results in more depressed economic conditions.

Raising wages will help these people a lot. Not just by increasing their own pay but by increased business from others being paid more. No little tax cut that is temporary will be a solution to such poverty. Higher wages will.

Better education will help a lot. So people don't have to take low wage jobs that require public assistance to be able to survive.

Small town rural America needs to stop electing politicians who don't give a damn about them and won't invest in the people and the areas they live in.

I was in one place that the water coming out of the faucet was a light brown and cloudy. I didn't wash my hands, I used hand sanitizer instead.

I have gone through countless towns that are totally abandoned. I've gone through farming areas that there aren't houses on the land. Just farming. People don't live in those areas anymore so the towns are turning into ghost towns.

The air in Oklahoma and Texas was so polluted it has caused a sinus infection. And people live in those areas. I can only imagine the health problems of the people in those areas but they don't have any hospital or medical facilities to go to. They have to travel hundreds of miles to get medical help.

Younger people who weren't alive before Reagan think this is normal.

It's not.

America wasn't like this before the conservatives convinced Americans that taxes, regulations, worker protections, a livable wage and investing in our nation was a horrible thing.

I totally understand now why so many in small town rural America voted for trump. He was the first republican who actually vocalized the problems the Republican Party was creating.

Only he either went about fixing the problem wrong or just didn't do anything. Which is what he mostly did. Nothing. In fact, things got worse for small town rural America.

I don't know what the solution is to help these people see that voting for republicans got them in this mess and won't get them out of it.

But I finally saw for myself the reasons why republicans voted for trump.

You're sooooooo full of shit. The interstate highway system is what decimated small town America. When the traffic through town disappeared, so did businesses. You commies just ain't too bright, are ya.

.

Your simplistic answer to a far more complex problem shows you lack the intellectual capacity to even be on this thread.

I bet you're a city boy, ain't ya? I'm old enough to have seen small towns dry up because the interstates bypassed them.

“Small towns that were bypassed by the highways withered and died,” writes Brandon Keim for Wired. “New towns flourished around exits. Fast food and motel franchises replaced small businesses.”

Three Ways the Interstate System Changed America

The idea of a national highway system stretches back to the 1930s but wasn't put into place until the midcentury

www.smithsonianmag.com

Carry on commie.

.

Danny was correct - You’re not smart enough to participate here. There are a million reasons, not one.
I know lots of small towns that have flourished because they were willing to change with the times and give people reasons to go there!

Adaptation does not negate the primary reason small towns were struggling to begin with. And you're talking about the exceptions, not the rule.

.

Evolve or die. Apparently small town Americans are too stiff necked to change their ways so they're dying.

You remind my of the membership of our church in Toronto. The church was done to fewer than `100 members, and the worship service was straight out of 1955. They wanted to grow the congregation, but they wanted everything to stay the same.

I've been on a road trip that I've wanted to do for a very long time.

I drove east to Illinois then am driving southwest to the Pacific Ocean on what's left of Route 66.

That road, or what's left of it, goes through small town rural America.

I've gone through ghost town after ghost town. The towns that aren't abandoned are so deeply depressed it's painful and shameful to see.

Small town rural America has been totally screwed and abandoned by both our government and our citizens.

I understand now why so many republicans are so angry. I don't understand why they can't see why they have been screwed so badly and by whom.

Most of the states and all of the towns are controlled by republicans. People keep voting for them because of social issues like gay marriage and because they don't make much money and wrongly seem to believe that tax cuts are the answer to their financial problems.

Tax cuts have only totally screwed small town rural America. Their roads are so bad. I mean so bad that there were times the rough road and wind has my car literally bouncing down the road. When was the last time their roads were paved? The poverty is just terrible.

This is the result of keeping wages low, no regulation on business and trillions in tax cuts for the rich and big business.

Capitalism is making it worse because there's no money to be made in those areas so they are abandoned by business which results in more depressed economic conditions.

Raising wages will help these people a lot. Not just by increasing their own pay but by increased business from others being paid more. No little tax cut that is temporary will be a solution to such poverty. Higher wages will.

Better education will help a lot. So people don't have to take low wage jobs that require public assistance to be able to survive.

Small town rural America needs to stop electing politicians who don't give a damn about them and won't invest in the people and the areas they live in.

I was in one place that the water coming out of the faucet was a light brown and cloudy. I didn't wash my hands, I used hand sanitizer instead.

I have gone through countless towns that are totally abandoned. I've gone through farming areas that there aren't houses on the land. Just farming. People don't live in those areas anymore so the towns are turning into ghost towns.

The air in Oklahoma and Texas was so polluted it has caused a sinus infection. And people live in those areas. I can only imagine the health problems of the people in those areas but they don't have any hospital or medical facilities to go to. They have to travel hundreds of miles to get medical help.

Younger people who weren't alive before Reagan think this is normal.

It's not.

America wasn't like this before the conservatives convinced Americans that taxes, regulations, worker protections, a livable wage and investing in our nation was a horrible thing.

I totally understand now why so many in small town rural America voted for trump. He was the first republican who actually vocalized the problems the Republican Party was creating.

Only he either went about fixing the problem wrong or just didn't do anything. Which is what he mostly did. Nothing. In fact, things got worse for small town rural America.

I don't know what the solution is to help these people see that voting for republicans got them in this mess and won't get them out of it.

But I finally saw for myself the reasons why republicans voted for trump.

So you just drove through and you had time to find out the political leanings of every person in every town huh?

That is such a stupid comment.

All I have to do is look at who they elect.

Guess what?

Democrats or moderates don't vote for republicans.

If the mayor, city counsel, the representation in their state congress and congress in DC are republican, the majority of the people in that area are republicans.

While the cities are in good shape compared to the rural areas, they are still sub par compared to the area I live in but the cities in the red states are much better off than the small towns in the rural areas.

You don't realize they are taking your tax dollars and spending it on the cities while leaving the rural areas to fall apart.

The state I live in doesn't have conditions like this. We don't have ghost towns. You can drive through rural areas of my state and find small towns that while aren't as well off as the cities, they aren't dying.

You people need to get out of your areas and experience what's happening in the cities and other states.

Yes, I haven't spent much time in red states anymore so I was very shocked to see what has happened to small town rural America in red states.

The change is very dramatic and I find it shameful. It shouldn't be happening.

this is mostly a nice post. . . except the part where you try to pin it on one parties' politician or another.

The folks in fly over country just want some representation. . . someone to speak for them and their values. I don't think they care what party that person is calling themselves, I really don't.

You either have no idea how economics and politics work, or you know damn well how it all works, and just lie your ass off. I don't know which.


The reason the roads and infrastructure looks so bad? Is because local communities are responsible for their local infrastructure. If there is no tax base? There can be no road millage, it is as simple as that. Government, especially federal government, cannot magically create improved economic conditions, even with a minimum wage. Only business can create jobs and economic opportunity.

You somehow believe that these folks, if they voted for politicians in the DNC, that those politicians would listen to these folks more than they would listen to the billionaire stake holders on Wall-street and in Silicon Valley that fund their campaigns, especially when they are already winning the votes of the metropolises? IS that what you really think?

I again, ask you. . . are you this stoopid, or just a liar?

The folks in the fly-over states have been lied to by right wing radio and the Republican Party since Reagan was elected. Their "values" aren't being represented by the Republican Party and neither are they. It is not people on the left or the Democrats who are lying to you and making your lives miserable, it is Republicans. Their policies don't work, and they are incompetent managers of the public purse, and economy.

You say you don't care which party provides the representation, as long as they reflect your values, but then you accuse Democrats of being the liars, and vote against them. If you consistently vote for the Party that lies to you, and call the people telling you the truth "liars", you're going to end up where you are now.

Republicans aren't reflecting your "values" unless your values are white supremacy, poverty, and unemployment, and tax breaks for billionaires, because those are the results of Republican governance. You've been voting Republican for 40 years, based on their lies to you, while decrying the "lying Democrats".

For non-losers, red states afford a MUCH higher standard of living than blue states. That is because of Republican policies. When will Democrats get that through their thick skulls? Stop moving here if you don’t like it.

 

[Indeependent]

I've been on a road trip that I've wanted to do for a very long time.

I drove east to Illinois then am driving southwest to the Pacific Ocean on what's left of Route 66.

That road, or what's left of it, goes through small town rural America.

I've gone through ghost town after ghost town. The towns that aren't abandoned are so deeply depressed it's painful and shameful to see.

Small town rural America has been totally screwed and abandoned by both our government and our citizens.

I understand now why so many republicans are so angry. I don't understand why they can't see why they have been screwed so badly and by whom.

Most of the states and all of the towns are controlled by republicans. People keep voting for them because of social issues like gay marriage and because they don't make much money and wrongly seem to believe that tax cuts are the answer to their financial problems.

Tax cuts have only totally screwed small town rural America. Their roads are so bad. I mean so bad that there were times the rough road and wind has my car literally bouncing down the road. When was the last time their roads were paved? The poverty is just terrible.

This is the result of keeping wages low, no regulation on business and trillions in tax cuts for the rich and big business.

Capitalism is making it worse because there's no money to be made in those areas so they are abandoned by business which results in more depressed economic conditions.

Raising wages will help these people a lot. Not just by increasing their own pay but by increased business from others being paid more. No little tax cut that is temporary will be a solution to such poverty. Higher wages will.

Better education will help a lot. So people don't have to take low wage jobs that require public assistance to be able to survive.

Small town rural America needs to stop electing politicians who don't give a damn about them and won't invest in the people and the areas they live in.

I was in one place that the water coming out of the faucet was a light brown and cloudy. I didn't wash my hands, I used hand sanitizer instead.

I have gone through countless towns that are totally abandoned. I've gone through farming areas that there aren't houses on the land. Just farming. People don't live in those areas anymore so the towns are turning into ghost towns.

The air in Oklahoma and Texas was so polluted it has caused a sinus infection. And people live in those areas. I can only imagine the health problems of the people in those areas but they don't have any hospital or medical facilities to go to. They have to travel hundreds of miles to get medical help.

Younger people who weren't alive before Reagan think this is normal.

It's not.

America wasn't like this before the conservatives convinced Americans that taxes, regulations, worker protections, a livable wage and investing in our nation was a horrible thing.

I totally understand now why so many in small town rural America voted for trump. He was the first republican who actually vocalized the problems the Republican Party was creating.

Only he either went about fixing the problem wrong or just didn't do anything. Which is what he mostly did. Nothing. In fact, things got worse for small town rural America.

I don't know what the solution is to help these people see that voting for republicans got them in this mess and won't get them out of it.

But I finally saw for myself the reasons why republicans voted for trump.

They should move to Chicago and join a gang.

 

[DrLove]

For non-losers, red states afford a MUCH higher standard of living than blue states. That is because of Republican policies. When will Democrats get that through their thick skulls? Stop moving here if you don’t like it.

Yes, it would be a nightmare if a lib-rul were to move next door to you. Worse yet - a BLLLLACK family. Red states are subsidized by the federal government for all the loser white welfare trash they generally contain. So there is that.

 

[DrLove]

Yea Dana, don’t you have a man to cook and clean for? And when you have a spare moment, you could watch The View and Dr Phil!

Thank you for that laugh. I needed it.

I have never seen most of what is on TV these days.

I have much better things to do with my time.

Looking forward to your next update - Hope all is well with the Toyota tire!

 

[DrLove]

this is mostly a nice post. . . except the part where you try to pin it on one parties' politician or another.

The folks in fly over country just want some representation. . . someone to speak for them and their values. I don't think they care what party that person is calling themselves, I really don't.

You either have no idea how economics and politics work, or you know damn well how it all works, and just lie your ass off. I don't know which.

The reason the roads and infrastructure looks so bad? Is because local communities are responsible for their local infrastructure. If there is no tax base? There can be no road millage, it is as simple as that. Government, especially federal government, cannot magically create improved economic conditions, even with a minimum wage. Only business can create jobs and economic opportunity.

You somehow believe that these folks, if they voted for politicians in the DNC, that those politicians would listen to these folks more than they would listen to the billionaire stake holders on Wall-street and in Silicon Valley that fund their campaigns, especially when they are already winning the votes of the metropolises? IS that what you really think?

I again, ask you. . . are you this stoopid, or just a liar?

All really big national infrastructure programs have been initiated and run by the federal government.
The last one was 87 years ago. We're beyond due.

Top 10 U.S. Government Investments in 20th Century American Competitiveness

Jennifer Erickson examines 10 smart investments made in the 20th century to remind us all how important investments are to our continued competitiveness and prosperity.

www.americanprogress.org

 

[OKTexas]

I've been on a road trip that I've wanted to do for a very long time.

I drove east to Illinois then am driving southwest to the Pacific Ocean on what's left of Route 66.

That road, or what's left of it, goes through small town rural America.

I've gone through ghost town after ghost town. The towns that aren't abandoned are so deeply depressed it's painful and shameful to see.

Small town rural America has been totally screwed and abandoned by both our government and our citizens.

I understand now why so many republicans are so angry. I don't understand why they can't see why they have been screwed so badly and by whom.

Most of the states and all of the towns are controlled by republicans. People keep voting for them because of social issues like gay marriage and because they don't make much money and wrongly seem to believe that tax cuts are the answer to their financial problems.

Tax cuts have only totally screwed small town rural America. Their roads are so bad. I mean so bad that there were times the rough road and wind has my car literally bouncing down the road. When was the last time their roads were paved? The poverty is just terrible.

This is the result of keeping wages low, no regulation on business and trillions in tax cuts for the rich and big business.

Capitalism is making it worse because there's no money to be made in those areas so they are abandoned by business which results in more depressed economic conditions.

Raising wages will help these people a lot. Not just by increasing their own pay but by increased business from others being paid more. No little tax cut that is temporary will be a solution to such poverty. Higher wages will.

Better education will help a lot. So people don't have to take low wage jobs that require public assistance to be able to survive.

Small town rural America needs to stop electing politicians who don't give a damn about them and won't invest in the people and the areas they live in.

I was in one place that the water coming out of the faucet was a light brown and cloudy. I didn't wash my hands, I used hand sanitizer instead.

I have gone through countless towns that are totally abandoned. I've gone through farming areas that there aren't houses on the land. Just farming. People don't live in those areas anymore so the towns are turning into ghost towns.

The air in Oklahoma and Texas was so polluted it has caused a sinus infection. And people live in those areas. I can only imagine the health problems of the people in those areas but they don't have any hospital or medical facilities to go to. They have to travel hundreds of miles to get medical help.

Younger people who weren't alive before Reagan think this is normal.

It's not.

America wasn't like this before the conservatives convinced Americans that taxes, regulations, worker protections, a livable wage and investing in our nation was a horrible thing.

I totally understand now why so many in small town rural America voted for trump. He was the first republican who actually vocalized the problems the Republican Party was creating.

Only he either went about fixing the problem wrong or just didn't do anything. Which is what he mostly did. Nothing. In fact, things got worse for small town rural America.

I don't know what the solution is to help these people see that voting for republicans got them in this mess and won't get them out of it.

But I finally saw for myself the reasons why republicans voted for trump.

You're sooooooo full of shit. The interstate highway system is what decimated small town America. When the traffic through town disappeared, so did businesses. You commies just ain't too bright, are ya.

.

Your simplistic answer to a far more complex problem shows you lack the intellectual capacity to even be on this thread.

I bet you're a city boy, ain't ya? I'm old enough to have seen small towns dry up because the interstates bypassed them.

“Small towns that were bypassed by the highways withered and died,” writes Brandon Keim for Wired. “New towns flourished around exits. Fast food and motel franchises replaced small businesses.”

Three Ways the Interstate System Changed America

The idea of a national highway system stretches back to the 1930s but wasn't put into place until the midcentury

www.smithsonianmag.com

Carry on commie.

.

Danny was correct - You’re not smart enough to participate here. There are a million reasons, not one.
I know lots of small towns that have flourished because they were willing to change with the times and give people reasons to go there!

Adaptation does not negate the primary reason small towns were struggling to begin with. And you're talking about the exceptions, not the rule.

.

Evolve or die. Apparently small town Americans are too stiff necked to change their ways so they're dying.

You remind my of the membership of our church in Toronto. The church was done to fewer than `100 members, and the worship service was straight out of 1955. They wanted to grow the congregation, but they wanted everything to stay the same.

I've been on a road trip that I've wanted to do for a very long time.

I drove east to Illinois then am driving southwest to the Pacific Ocean on what's left of Route 66.

That road, or what's left of it, goes through small town rural America.

I've gone through ghost town after ghost town. The towns that aren't abandoned are so deeply depressed it's painful and shameful to see.

Small town rural America has been totally screwed and abandoned by both our government and our citizens.

I understand now why so many republicans are so angry. I don't understand why they can't see why they have been screwed so badly and by whom.

Most of the states and all of the towns are controlled by republicans. People keep voting for them because of social issues like gay marriage and because they don't make much money and wrongly seem to believe that tax cuts are the answer to their financial problems.

Tax cuts have only totally screwed small town rural America. Their roads are so bad. I mean so bad that there were times the rough road and wind has my car literally bouncing down the road. When was the last time their roads were paved? The poverty is just terrible.

This is the result of keeping wages low, no regulation on business and trillions in tax cuts for the rich and big business.

Capitalism is making it worse because there's no money to be made in those areas so they are abandoned by business which results in more depressed economic conditions.

Raising wages will help these people a lot. Not just by increasing their own pay but by increased business from others being paid more. No little tax cut that is temporary will be a solution to such poverty. Higher wages will.

Better education will help a lot. So people don't have to take low wage jobs that require public assistance to be able to survive.

Small town rural America needs to stop electing politicians who don't give a damn about them and won't invest in the people and the areas they live in.

I was in one place that the water coming out of the faucet was a light brown and cloudy. I didn't wash my hands, I used hand sanitizer instead.

I have gone through countless towns that are totally abandoned. I've gone through farming areas that there aren't houses on the land. Just farming. People don't live in those areas anymore so the towns are turning into ghost towns.

The air in Oklahoma and Texas was so polluted it has caused a sinus infection. And people live in those areas. I can only imagine the health problems of the people in those areas but they don't have any hospital or medical facilities to go to. They have to travel hundreds of miles to get medical help.

Younger people who weren't alive before Reagan think this is normal.

It's not.

America wasn't like this before the conservatives convinced Americans that taxes, regulations, worker protections, a livable wage and investing in our nation was a horrible thing.

I totally understand now why so many in small town rural America voted for trump. He was the first republican who actually vocalized the problems the Republican Party was creating.

Only he either went about fixing the problem wrong or just didn't do anything. Which is what he mostly did. Nothing. In fact, things got worse for small town rural America.

I don't know what the solution is to help these people see that voting for republicans got them in this mess and won't get them out of it.

But I finally saw for myself the reasons why republicans voted for trump.

So you just drove through and you had time to find out the political leanings of every person in every town huh?

That is such a stupid comment.

All I have to do is look at who they elect.

Guess what?

Democrats or moderates don't vote for republicans.

If the mayor, city counsel, the representation in their state congress and congress in DC are republican, the majority of the people in that area are republicans.

While the cities are in good shape compared to the rural areas, they are still sub par compared to the area I live in but the cities in the red states are much better off than the small towns in the rural areas.

You don't realize they are taking your tax dollars and spending it on the cities while leaving the rural areas to fall apart.

The state I live in doesn't have conditions like this. We don't have ghost towns. You can drive through rural areas of my state and find small towns that while aren't as well off as the cities, they aren't dying.

You people need to get out of your areas and experience what's happening in the cities and other states.

Yes, I haven't spent much time in red states anymore so I was very shocked to see what has happened to small town rural America in red states.

The change is very dramatic and I find it shameful. It shouldn't be happening.

this is mostly a nice post. . . except the part where you try to pin it on one parties' politician or another.

The folks in fly over country just want some representation. . . someone to speak for them and their values. I don't think they care what party that person is calling themselves, I really don't.

You either have no idea how economics and politics work, or you know damn well how it all works, and just lie your ass off. I don't know which.


The reason the roads and infrastructure looks so bad? Is because local communities are responsible for their local infrastructure. If there is no tax base? There can be no road millage, it is as simple as that. Government, especially federal government, cannot magically create improved economic conditions, even with a minimum wage. Only business can create jobs and economic opportunity.

You somehow believe that these folks, if they voted for politicians in the DNC, that those politicians would listen to these folks more than they would listen to the billionaire stake holders on Wall-street and in Silicon Valley that fund their campaigns, especially when they are already winning the votes of the metropolises? IS that what you really think?

I again, ask you. . . are you this stoopid, or just a liar?

The folks in the fly-over states have been lied to by right wing radio and the Republican Party since Reagan was elected. Their "values" aren't being represented by the Republican Party and neither are they. It is not people on the left or the Democrats who are lying to you and making your lives miserable, it is Republicans. Their policies don't work, and they are incompetent managers of the public purse, and economy.

You say you don't care which party provides the representation, as long as they reflect your values, but then you accuse Democrats of being the liars, and vote against them. If you consistently vote for the Party that lies to you, and call the people telling you the truth "liars", you're going to end up where you are now.

Republicans aren't reflecting your "values" unless your values are white supremacy, poverty, and unemployment, and tax breaks for billionaires, because those are the results of Republican governance. You've been voting Republican for 40 years, based on their lies to you, while decrying the "lying Democrats".

Fuck off and die you foreign bitch. We don't need you spewing commie bullshit and talking points, we have enough ignorant commie Americans doing it.

.

 

[Flopper]

Kinda sad that small town America votes republican. Republican politicians will never do anything to help their way of life. An affordable government run health care system like other more advanced countries have would certainly help their and their children make it through life. I say that as someone who has voted republican at times also, but I've come to realize that republicans really don't care about any one who's not wealthy although they pretend to, and are pretty successful at it.

Yep, but they surely do love the poorly educated in the sticks - until it comes time to actually DO something for ‘em.
Problem of course is that the jobs young college grads want and where they want to live are burbs outside of major cities.
So eventually many of them leave the smaller towns resulting in population attrition and general decay.

There is not much that can be done to revive most small rural towns. A hundred years ago, 49% of Americans lived in those rural areas. Today it is only 14% and dropping about 1% each decade. The population of most of these tiny towns today is old like everything else in town, depending on some type of government support. 60 years ago, these same towns served small farms that have been replaced by large cooperate agricultural enterprises who buy from large suppliers in the cities. I have an aunt who lives in one of these small towns in Oklahoma. About the only real businesses are the two truck stops on Interstate about 3 miles outside of town.

 

[Flopper]

I've been on a road trip that I've wanted to do for a very long time.

I drove east to Illinois then am driving southwest to the Pacific Ocean on what's left of Route 66.

That road, or what's left of it, goes through small town rural America.

I've gone through ghost town after ghost town. The towns that aren't abandoned are so deeply depressed it's painful and shameful to see.

Small town rural America has been totally screwed and abandoned by both our government and our citizens.

I understand now why so many republicans are so angry. I don't understand why they can't see why they have been screwed so badly and by whom.

Most of the states and all of the towns are controlled by republicans. People keep voting for them because of social issues like gay marriage and because they don't make much money and wrongly seem to believe that tax cuts are the answer to their financial problems.

Tax cuts have only totally screwed small town rural America. Their roads are so bad. I mean so bad that there were times the rough road and wind has my car literally bouncing down the road. When was the last time their roads were paved? The poverty is just terrible.

This is the result of keeping wages low, no regulation on business and trillions in tax cuts for the rich and big business.

Capitalism is making it worse because there's no money to be made in those areas so they are abandoned by business which results in more depressed economic conditions.

Raising wages will help these people a lot. Not just by increasing their own pay but by increased business from others being paid more. No little tax cut that is temporary will be a solution to such poverty. Higher wages will.

Better education will help a lot. So people don't have to take low wage jobs that require public assistance to be able to survive.

Small town rural America needs to stop electing politicians who don't give a damn about them and won't invest in the people and the areas they live in.

I was in one place that the water coming out of the faucet was a light brown and cloudy. I didn't wash my hands, I used hand sanitizer instead.

I have gone through countless towns that are totally abandoned. I've gone through farming areas that there aren't houses on the land. Just farming. People don't live in those areas anymore so the towns are turning into ghost towns.

The air in Oklahoma and Texas was so polluted it has caused a sinus infection. And people live in those areas. I can only imagine the health problems of the people in those areas but they don't have any hospital or medical facilities to go to. They have to travel hundreds of miles to get medical help.

Younger people who weren't alive before Reagan think this is normal.

It's not.

America wasn't like this before the conservatives convinced Americans that taxes, regulations, worker protections, a livable wage and investing in our nation was a horrible thing.

I totally understand now why so many in small town rural America voted for trump. He was the first republican who actually vocalized the problems the Republican Party was creating.

Only he either went about fixing the problem wrong or just didn't do anything. Which is what he mostly did. Nothing. In fact, things got worse for small town rural America.

I don't know what the solution is to help these people see that voting for republicans got them in this mess and won't get them out of it.

But I finally saw for myself the reasons why republicans voted for trump.

You're sooooooo full of shit. The interstate highway system is what decimated small town America. When the traffic through town disappeared, so did businesses. You commies just ain't too bright, are ya.

.

Your simplistic answer to a far more complex problem shows you lack the intellectual capacity to even be on this thread.

I bet you're a city boy, ain't ya? I'm old enough to have seen small towns dry up because the interstates bypassed them.

“Small towns that were bypassed by the highways withered and died,” writes Brandon Keim for Wired. “New towns flourished around exits. Fast food and motel franchises replaced small businesses.”

Three Ways the Interstate System Changed America

The idea of a national highway system stretches back to the 1930s but wasn't put into place until the midcentury

www.smithsonianmag.com

Carry on commie.

.

Danny was correct - You’re not smart enough to participate here. There are a million reasons, not one.
I know lots of small towns that have flourished because they were willing to change with the times and give people reasons to go there!

Adaptation does not negate the primary reason small towns were struggling to begin with. And you're talking about the exceptions, not the rule.

.

Evolve or die. Apparently small town Americans are too stiff necked to change their ways so they're dying.

You remind my of the membership of our church in Toronto. The church was done to fewer than `100 members, and the worship service was straight out of 1955. They wanted to grow the congregation, but they wanted everything to stay the same.

I've been on a road trip that I've wanted to do for a very long time.

I drove east to Illinois then am driving southwest to the Pacific Ocean on what's left of Route 66.

That road, or what's left of it, goes through small town rural America.

I've gone through ghost town after ghost town. The towns that aren't abandoned are so deeply depressed it's painful and shameful to see.

Small town rural America has been totally screwed and abandoned by both our government and our citizens.

I understand now why so many republicans are so angry. I don't understand why they can't see why they have been screwed so badly and by whom.

Most of the states and all of the towns are controlled by republicans. People keep voting for them because of social issues like gay marriage and because they don't make much money and wrongly seem to believe that tax cuts are the answer to their financial problems.

Tax cuts have only totally screwed small town rural America. Their roads are so bad. I mean so bad that there were times the rough road and wind has my car literally bouncing down the road. When was the last time their roads were paved? The poverty is just terrible.

This is the result of keeping wages low, no regulation on business and trillions in tax cuts for the rich and big business.

Capitalism is making it worse because there's no money to be made in those areas so they are abandoned by business which results in more depressed economic conditions.

Raising wages will help these people a lot. Not just by increasing their own pay but by increased business from others being paid more. No little tax cut that is temporary will be a solution to such poverty. Higher wages will.

Better education will help a lot. So people don't have to take low wage jobs that require public assistance to be able to survive.

Small town rural America needs to stop electing politicians who don't give a damn about them and won't invest in the people and the areas they live in.

I was in one place that the water coming out of the faucet was a light brown and cloudy. I didn't wash my hands, I used hand sanitizer instead.

I have gone through countless towns that are totally abandoned. I've gone through farming areas that there aren't houses on the land. Just farming. People don't live in those areas anymore so the towns are turning into ghost towns.

The air in Oklahoma and Texas was so polluted it has caused a sinus infection. And people live in those areas. I can only imagine the health problems of the people in those areas but they don't have any hospital or medical facilities to go to. They have to travel hundreds of miles to get medical help.

Younger people who weren't alive before Reagan think this is normal.

It's not.

America wasn't like this before the conservatives convinced Americans that taxes, regulations, worker protections, a livable wage and investing in our nation was a horrible thing.

I totally understand now why so many in small town rural America voted for trump. He was the first republican who actually vocalized the problems the Republican Party was creating.

Only he either went about fixing the problem wrong or just didn't do anything. Which is what he mostly did. Nothing. In fact, things got worse for small town rural America.

I don't know what the solution is to help these people see that voting for republicans got them in this mess and won't get them out of it.

But I finally saw for myself the reasons why republicans voted for trump.

So you just drove through and you had time to find out the political leanings of every person in every town huh?

That is such a stupid comment.

All I have to do is look at who they elect.

Guess what?

Democrats or moderates don't vote for republicans.

If the mayor, city counsel, the representation in their state congress and congress in DC are republican, the majority of the people in that area are republicans.

While the cities are in good shape compared to the rural areas, they are still sub par compared to the area I live in but the cities in the red states are much better off than the small towns in the rural areas.

You don't realize they are taking your tax dollars and spending it on the cities while leaving the rural areas to fall apart.

The state I live in doesn't have conditions like this. We don't have ghost towns. You can drive through rural areas of my state and find small towns that while aren't as well off as the cities, they aren't dying.

You people need to get out of your areas and experience what's happening in the cities and other states.

Yes, I haven't spent much time in red states anymore so I was very shocked to see what has happened to small town rural America in red states.

The change is very dramatic and I find it shameful. It shouldn't be happening.

this is mostly a nice post. . . except the part where you try to pin it on one parties' politician or another.

The folks in fly over country just want some representation. . . someone to speak for them and their values. I don't think they care what party that person is calling themselves, I really don't.

You either have no idea how economics and politics work, or you know damn well how it all works, and just lie your ass off. I don't know which.


The reason the roads and infrastructure looks so bad? Is because local communities are responsible for their local infrastructure. If there is no tax base? There can be no road millage, it is as simple as that. Government, especially federal government, cannot magically create improved economic conditions, even with a minimum wage. Only business can create jobs and economic opportunity.

You somehow believe that these folks, if they voted for politicians in the DNC, that those politicians would listen to these folks more than they would listen to the billionaire stake holders on Wall-street and in Silicon Valley that fund their campaigns, especially when they are already winning the votes of the metropolises? IS that what you really think?

I again, ask you. . . are you this stoopid, or just a liar?

The folks in the fly-over states have been lied to by right wing radio and the Republican Party since Reagan was elected. Their "values" aren't being represented by the Republican Party and neither are they. It is not people on the left or the Democrats who are lying to you and making your lives miserable, it is Republicans. Their policies don't work, and they are incompetent managers of the public purse, and economy.

You say you don't care which party provides the representation, as long as they reflect your values, but then you accuse Democrats of being the liars, and vote against them. If you consistently vote for the Party that lies to you, and call the people telling you the truth "liars", you're going to end up where you are now.

Republicans aren't reflecting your "values" unless your values are white supremacy, poverty, and unemployment, and tax breaks for billionaires, because those are the results of Republican governance. You've been voting Republican for 40 years, based on their lies to you, while decrying the "lying Democrats".

For non-losers, red states afford a MUCH higher standard of living than blue states. That is because of Republican policies. When will Democrats get that through their thick skulls? Stop moving here if you don’t like it.

The above is based on education, jobs, income, safety, health, environment, civic engagement, accessibility of services and housing. The large metropolitan areas offer the highest standard living in the country. High crime and poverty in most big cities is concentrated in relatively small areas and rarely extend into the better areas of the city or suburbs. Over 1/3 of Americans live in the 20 largest metropolitan areas and over half live the in 40 largest. This is where you will find the best jobs, education, healthcare, entertainment, sports, and cultural activities.

Standard of Living By State

This table presents the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Developments (OECD) 2014 measure of the quality of life in each of the states and the District of Columbia. The score presented is the total of ten subscores- education, jobs, income, safety, health, environment, civic...

politicsthatwork.com

 

[MisterBeale]

this is mostly a nice post. . . except the part where you try to pin it on one parties' politician or another.

The folks in fly over country just want some representation. . . someone to speak for them and their values. I don't think they care what party that person is calling themselves, I really don't.

You either have no idea how economics and politics work, or you know damn well how it all works, and just lie your ass off. I don't know which.

The reason the roads and infrastructure looks so bad? Is because local communities are responsible for their local infrastructure. If there is no tax base? There can be no road millage, it is as simple as that. Government, especially federal government, cannot magically create improved economic conditions, even with a minimum wage. Only business can create jobs and economic opportunity.

You somehow believe that these folks, if they voted for politicians in the DNC, that those politicians would listen to these folks more than they would listen to the billionaire stake holders on Wall-street and in Silicon Valley that fund their campaigns, especially when they are already winning the votes of the metropolises? IS that what you really think?

I again, ask you. . . are you this stoopid, or just a liar?

All really big national infrastructure programs have been initiated and run by the federal government.
The last one was 87 years ago. We're beyond due.

Top 10 U.S. Government Investments in 20th Century American Competitiveness

Jennifer Erickson examines 10 smart investments made in the 20th century to remind us all how important investments are to our continued competitiveness and prosperity.

www.americanprogress.org

 

[d0gbreath]

All of those small towns began and grew due to the commerce created by Route 66. The Interstate highway came through and began their decline. Think of the early rail lines and the good times had right up until they laid a new line too far away.

 

[DrLove]

Kinda sad that small town America votes republican. Republican politicians will never do anything to help their way of life. An affordable government run health care system like other more advanced countries have would certainly help their and their children make it through life. I say that as someone who has voted republican at times also, but I've come to realize that republicans really don't care about any one who's not wealthy although they pretend to, and are pretty successful at it.

Yep, but they surely do love the poorly educated in the sticks - until it comes time to actually DO something for ‘em.
Problem of course is that the jobs young college grads want and where they want to live are burbs outside of major cities.
So eventually many of them leave the smaller towns resulting in population attrition and general decay.

There is not much that can be done to revive most small rural towns. A hundred years ago, 49% of Americans lived in those rural areas. Today it is only 14% and dropping about 1% each decade. The population of most of these tiny towns today is old like everything else in town, depending on some type of government support. 60 years ago, these same towns served small farms that have been replaced by large cooperate agricultural enterprises who buy from large suppliers in the cities. I have an aunt who lives in one of these small towns in Oklahoma. About the only real businesses are the two truck stops on Interstate about 3 miles outside of town.

Great post -90% agree. Little Pink Houses - Somehow this tune from the 80s works for this thread. Not a lot has changed 35 years later - Sad

 

[Manonthestreet]

I've been on a road trip that I've wanted to do for a very long time.

I drove east to Illinois then am driving southwest to the Pacific Ocean on what's left of Route 66.

That road, or what's left of it, goes through small town rural America.

I've gone through ghost town after ghost town. The towns that aren't abandoned are so deeply depressed it's painful and shameful to see.

Small town rural America has been totally screwed and abandoned by both our government and our citizens.

I understand now why so many republicans are so angry. I don't understand why they can't see why they have been screwed so badly and by whom.

Most of the states and all of the towns are controlled by republicans. People keep voting for them because of social issues like gay marriage and because they don't make much money and wrongly seem to believe that tax cuts are the answer to their financial problems.

Tax cuts have only totally screwed small town rural America. Their roads are so bad. I mean so bad that there were times the rough road and wind has my car literally bouncing down the road. When was the last time their roads were paved? The poverty is just terrible.

This is the result of keeping wages low, no regulation on business and trillions in tax cuts for the rich and big business.

Capitalism is making it worse because there's no money to be made in those areas so they are abandoned by business which results in more depressed economic conditions.

Raising wages will help these people a lot. Not just by increasing their own pay but by increased business from others being paid more. No little tax cut that is temporary will be a solution to such poverty. Higher wages will.

Better education will help a lot. So people don't have to take low wage jobs that require public assistance to be able to survive.

Small town rural America needs to stop electing politicians who don't give a damn about them and won't invest in the people and the areas they live in.

I was in one place that the water coming out of the faucet was a light brown and cloudy. I didn't wash my hands, I used hand sanitizer instead.

I have gone through countless towns that are totally abandoned. I've gone through farming areas that there aren't houses on the land. Just farming. People don't live in those areas anymore so the towns are turning into ghost towns.

The air in Oklahoma and Texas was so polluted it has caused a sinus infection. And people live in those areas. I can only imagine the health problems of the people in those areas but they don't have any hospital or medical facilities to go to. They have to travel hundreds of miles to get medical help.

Younger people who weren't alive before Reagan think this is normal.

It's not.

America wasn't like this before the conservatives convinced Americans that taxes, regulations, worker protections, a livable wage and investing in our nation was a horrible thing.

I totally understand now why so many in small town rural America voted for trump. He was the first republican who actually vocalized the problems the Republican Party was creating.

Only he either went about fixing the problem wrong or just didn't do anything. Which is what he mostly did. Nothing. In fact, things got worse for small town rural America.

I don't know what the solution is to help these people see that voting for republicans got them in this mess and won't get them out of it.

But I finally saw for myself the reasons why republicans voted for trump.

I think its more the kids didnt stick around. Went to Seligman 23 yrs ago where the wifes mothers relatives lived. Even then it looked like a place you went to disappear.

 

[DrLove]

this is mostly a nice post. . . except the part where you try to pin it on one parties' politician or another.

The folks in fly over country just want some representation. . . someone to speak for them and their values. I don't think they care what party that person is calling themselves, I really don't.

You either have no idea how economics and politics work, or you know damn well how it all works, and just lie your ass off. I don't know which.

The reason the roads and infrastructure looks so bad? Is because local communities are responsible for their local infrastructure. If there is no tax base? There can be no road millage, it is as simple as that. Government, especially federal government, cannot magically create improved economic conditions, even with a minimum wage. Only business can create jobs and economic opportunity.

You somehow believe that these folks, if they voted for politicians in the DNC, that those politicians would listen to these folks more than they would listen to the billionaire stake holders on Wall-street and in Silicon Valley that fund their campaigns, especially when they are already winning the votes of the metropolises? IS that what you really think?

I again, ask you. . . are you this stoopid, or just a liar?

All really big national infrastructure programs have been initiated and run by the federal government.
The last one was 87 years ago. We're beyond due.

Top 10 U.S. Government Investments in 20th Century American Competitiveness

Jennifer Erickson examines 10 smart investments made in the 20th century to remind us all how important investments are to our continued competitiveness and prosperity.

www.americanprogress.org

View attachment 478089

I posted facts. I’m sorry you don’t like them man!

 

[MisterBeale]

this is mostly a nice post. . . except the part where you try to pin it on one parties' politician or another.

The folks in fly over country just want some representation. . . someone to speak for them and their values. I don't think they care what party that person is calling themselves, I really don't.

You either have no idea how economics and politics work, or you know damn well how it all works, and just lie your ass off. I don't know which.

The reason the roads and infrastructure looks so bad? Is because local communities are responsible for their local infrastructure. If there is no tax base? There can be no road millage, it is as simple as that. Government, especially federal government, cannot magically create improved economic conditions, even with a minimum wage. Only business can create jobs and economic opportunity.

You somehow believe that these folks, if they voted for politicians in the DNC, that those politicians would listen to these folks more than they would listen to the billionaire stake holders on Wall-street and in Silicon Valley that fund their campaigns, especially when they are already winning the votes of the metropolises? IS that what you really think?

I again, ask you. . . are you this stoopid, or just a liar?

All really big national infrastructure programs have been initiated and run by the federal government.
The last one was 87 years ago. We're beyond due.

Top 10 U.S. Government Investments in 20th Century American Competitiveness

Jennifer Erickson examines 10 smart investments made in the 20th century to remind us all how important investments are to our continued competitiveness and prosperity.

www.americanprogress.org

View attachment 478089

I posted facts. I’m sorry you don’t like them man!

No, the facts you posted were about the federal investment in infrastructure.

It most decidedly WAS your opinion as to whether we need to make another major investment again into some sort of federal infrastructure project.

I read the comments on what the Biden Administration has in mind, I read that White House memo. Much of it was rhetoric which was intended to promote waste, graft, and corruption. Nothing has fundamentally changed from Trump. Trump had his WALL, Biden has his infrastructure. It is just an excuse to give away contracts and reward stake holders. Just who the hell do you think you are talking to?


Since the Clinton administration managed to finagle in base-line budgeting over the objections and howling protestations of many small government conservatives? There should really be no real need for any big infrastructure investments, if there were no graft and corruption in government vis-à-vis the stake holders which are the clients of the STATE.

. . . but come. . . we are both intelligent, we know what this is really about. . . so stop the bullshit now, O.K.?

YES. . . it IS your opinion that the Federal government needs to give away more tax payer cash on things that you want defined as "federal infrastructure" projects.

 

[Dana7360]

.....
It was not a good experience. The speed limit in that area is 75 mph but everyone is going at least 80.

So many huge semi trucks flew by me as I was on the shoulder. One of them was barreling down through part of the shoulder and just missed hitting me in the car. I got out of the car after that and stood away from it in case it got hit.

The wind through that area just blows trucks and cars around. I was afraid the wind was going to blow one of the semi trucks into me.
.....

You are one badass mofo...

I don't know what that is supposed to mean but I'm woman who was in a very bad situation because I drove my car for 8 days on very bad roads that destroyed the front driver tire. A tire that was nearly brand new. It was installed at the end of November.

This is what driving 8 days on the bad roads did to a tire just over 4 months old.

View attachment 477890

Stay home and watch TV.

If you actually thought before you posted that, you would have realized that a woman who drives from Washington to Illinois then all the way to California then back up to Washington, isn't the type of person to stay home to watch TV.

I had been stuck at home in a lockdown for over a year. I finally got fully vaccinated so I am free to interact with the world again.

The last thing I'm going to do is stay home to watch TV.

You might think that's a fun day but I don't.

I have better things to do with my time.

Yet you're scared to be on the road with other vehicles...

This is my last reply to your ridiculous lies.

No where did I say I was scared of anything much less to be on the road with other cars.

I've been driving since 1974 when I had to sit on the phone book to be able to see over the steering wheel.

Bite me.

I got the tire fixed and continued my adventure. It was just a side step from my trip. I have no solid plans except to drive the whole length of Route 66. Anything else is whatever happens along the way.

It's called an adventure. I'm sure you have no idea of that concept.

I was a success with my career. So I was able to retire when I was 54 years old. Which is 13 years before everyone else my age will retire and qualify for social security. I don't need social security. So I have been able to spend my time doing exactly what I want. With the exception of the pandemic.

You obviously have to concoct some stupid lie in your head about me in some pathetic attempt to make yourself feel better.

Go ahead, knock yourself out.

Whatever you need to be able to live with yourself.

I'm not here posting for you or anyone like you so I could careless what you think.

I'm a liberal who did well in life. So well I was able to retire 13 years early fully financially independent having fun with my life.

Eat your heart out.

 

[Flopper]

this is mostly a nice post. . . except the part where you try to pin it on one parties' politician or another.

The folks in fly over country just want some representation. . . someone to speak for them and their values. I don't think they care what party that person is calling themselves, I really don't.

You either have no idea how economics and politics work, or you know damn well how it all works, and just lie your ass off. I don't know which.

The reason the roads and infrastructure looks so bad? Is because local communities are responsible for their local infrastructure. If there is no tax base? There can be no road millage, it is as simple as that. Government, especially federal government, cannot magically create improved economic conditions, even with a minimum wage. Only business can create jobs and economic opportunity.

You somehow believe that these folks, if they voted for politicians in the DNC, that those politicians would listen to these folks more than they would listen to the billionaire stake holders on Wall-street and in Silicon Valley that fund their campaigns, especially when they are already winning the votes of the metropolises? IS that what you really think?

I again, ask you. . . are you this stoopid, or just a liar?

All really big national infrastructure programs have been initiated and run by the federal government.
The last one was 87 years ago. We're beyond due.

Top 10 U.S. Government Investments in 20th Century American Competitiveness

Jennifer Erickson examines 10 smart investments made in the 20th century to remind us all how important investments are to our continued competitiveness and prosperity.

www.americanprogress.org

View attachment 478089

I posted facts. I’m sorry you don’t like them man!

No, the facts you posted were about the federal investment in infrastructure.

It most decidedly WAS your opinion as to whether we need to make another major investment again into some sort of federal infrastructure project.

I read the comments on what the Biden Administration has in mind, I read that White House memo. Much of it was rhetoric which was intended to promote waste, graft, and corruption. Nothing has fundamentally changed from Trump. Trump had his WALL, Biden has his infrastructure. It is just an excuse to give away contracts and reward stake holders. Just who the hell do you think you are talking to?


Since the Clinton administration managed to finagle in base-line budgeting over the objections and howling protestations of many small government conservatives? There should really be no real need for any big infrastructure investments, if there were no graft and corruption in government vis-à-vis the stake holders which are the clients of the STATE.

. . . but come. . . we are both intelligent, we know what this is really about. . . so stop the bullshit now, O.K.?

YES. . . it IS your opinion that the Federal government needs to give away more tax payer cash on things that you want defined as "federal infrastructure" projects.

The media calls it an infrastructure bill but Biden calls it the American Jobs Plan because it is not just traditional infrastructure, roads, bridges, ports, waterways, airports, and rail. It also includes upgrading waste water and drinking water systems, upgrading broadband, modernizing the nations electric grid, restocking the Strategic National Stockpile, electrifying school buses, promoting, advanced manufacturing, research and development, etc.

There is little doubt that all or most all of the above is needed but do we really need to put all this together in an omnibus bill? Speaking politically, the answer is yes when a party in control of congress has a razor thin majority. An omnibus bill provides something for everyone which makes it easier to gather support.

Since the plan covers a 15 year period, the cost works out to 133 billion a year which will be much more palatable to congress than 2 trillion.

What is needed in this bill is details as to what major projects will be included. Unfortunately, that will not occur because it would take years to do that.

 

[Unkotare]

...

I'm a liberal who did well in life. So well I was able to retire 13 years early ...

Is such shallow materialism part of "liberal" ideology?

 

[Unkotare]

...

It's called an adventure. I'm sure you have no idea of that concept.

...

 

[Unkotare]

...No where [sic] did I say I was scared of anything much less to be on the road with other cars....

Oh, of course not...

...It was not a good experience. The speed limit in that area is 75 mph but everyone is going at least 80. So many huge semi trucks flew by me as I was on the shoulder. One of them was barreling down through part of the shoulder and just missed hitting me in the car. I got out of the car after that and stood away from it in case it got hit. The wind through that area just blows trucks and cars around. I was afraid the wind was going to blow one of the semi trucks into me.
...

 

[bigrebnc1775]

Right wingers come out in hives when you mention higher wages. Higher wages are communism because they reduce the profits that their masters make. Its the big right wing con.

and rat shit foreigners are clueless about America.

Unless you’re a Native American, we’re all foreigners you idiot

not true dumb shit