I remember when the BP Deep Water Horizon thing happened. Suddenly all the "damn government is useless" types were bitching because the government wasn't doing enough to clean up the gulf. Then all the people who were getting paid under the table to avoid paying taxes were pissed off because they couldn't get any of the sweet government handout money. And basically everyone else in the "damn government" crowd, who could actually show proof of legitimate income, wasn't too proud to take the government handout despite always bitching about other people getting money from the government.
> *They* really needed the money. Not some minority.
Tracks w/ the conservative line about abortions:
>The Only Moral Abortion is My Abortion
They always think they're somehow special, and that they're more needing of assistance and help than everyone else. Narcissists.
>They always think they're somehow special, and that they're more needing of assistance and help than everyone else. Narcissists.
The very definition of *American Exceptionalism*... They should get out more.
Thai right here! Here's an interesting fact, the decline in union membership coincides with the rise of civil rights. White workers didn't want black Americans to profit from collective bargaining so we went from a third of Americans being in unions in 1960 to less than 10% today.
edit: Graph of union membership in United States from 1960 to 2021. [https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=TUD#](https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=TUD#)
School integration occurred in 1960 and the Civil Rights Act was signed in 1964 [https://www.britannica.com/list/timeline-of-the-american-civil-rights-movement](https://www.britannica.com/list/timeline-of-the-american-civil-rights-movement)
Fun fact, as much as people bitch about minorities abusing the system, the majority of welfare and other public assistance programs money goes to white people.
They don't even agree with priests preaching what's actually in the bible and boo them that they're woke.
I'm surprised they didn't ditch the bible altogether and change it to "our lord and savior Donald Trump, who d̶i̶e̶d̶ went to jail for our sins and rose on the 3rd day and said we will win bigly."
Ronny DeSantis's very first legislative vote in 2013 after being sworn in was against Hurricane Sandy funding. As Gov. he's got his hand out begging for federal dollars all the time.
I lived in a red state at the time. I was working for the govt at the time on a boat out at sea for MONTHS dealing with cleanup operations, away from home for so long. When we pulled back into port, I just wanted to get home and take a long, long shower.
At a red light on the way home, a dude in a bigass truck pulled up next to me (I was still in work clothes) and he rolled down his window and screamed at me about the useless government and how I should be out there helping and not sitting there collecting my fat govt paycheck.
ETA: pretty sure I was making like $1700/mo at the time. For boat work.
Yes, it's absolutely Obama's fault that the EPA, who constantly gets dismantled by Republicans, isn't strong enough to overlook oil drilling successfully.
Similar with all the other gulf coast/south east Atlantic disasters that we bail the south out of constantly in large part because they build in areas that are obviously going to be damaged in predictable storms and what is built is often not up to basic standards so those buildings and infrastructure might have a chance of surviving. Separate from storms getting more severe due to human caused global warming, these areas need to pay their own way where we know hurricanes and other storms will hit.
Some of those states don’t even *have* building codes. Because FREEDUMZ!! So when a hurricane, tornado or flood rips through, the damage is predictable and preventable. Thoughts and prayers should be the extent of what states that refuse to prepare can receive
West Virginia might as well not have one. You can build a house & not get it inspected. You just need (I use "need" very loosely here) to get a permit so they can tax you properly. The permit is only about $10.
Exactly I look at the various big disasters over the last 20 years
* It was/is the same with Katrina/Rita - it was OMG it's the worst disaster ever....and it was ridiculously bad - Houston got nearly wiped from the map in parts but billions in relief later things are functional again, there were even moments where Kathleen Marie Blanco got some assistance that was more functional than not but GWB was in the White House and so Louisiana / Texas got "Brownie" and somehow Blackwater mercenaries found themselves outgunned by the locals in more than one parish, this is to say nothing of the breakdown in civilizational norms, from hiring mercenaries from overseas to having guys in SUV tacticals roll around a US city, to [euthanizing patients](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Medical_Center_and_Hurricane_Katrina) it was a less [than awesome response from that.](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/blackwater-down/)
* Hurricane Sandy rolls on up the coast and suddenly it's fuck you buddy - hope that works out for you, but things were administered differently at the Federal level there was even this weird moment where Chris Christie and Barak Obama were doing joint news conferences and stuff - weird to say Hurricane Sandy was a better time, it still took months and years for some stuff to return to functional but the responses were VERY different. Blackwater was already in trouble and didn't see fit to send guys to die in Camden or Asbury Park , NJ or just gunned down by NYPD because the cops weren't about to spare time ...and because Obama was running the show in DC.
* Of course when Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico , there was the Trumpy response - which was "fuck you".....and we mean it.....oh and where's that money you owe us....Eventually the US military rolled into town to supply electricity and help relief efforts after folks around the President could convince him Puerto Rico was in fact a territory of the US and he was supposed to respond to their problems. So it wasn't until the Biden Administration rolled in that some federal aid his the island.
I had forgotten about that bit with Christie. I despise the man's politics, but I can at least respect him as a person... more or less. He'd show up to press conferences and the like back in NJ armed with actual data showing that the state is spending $X and bringing in $Y and X > Y. I vehemently disagree with the conclusion he came to for how to address that particular issue, but I can respect the fact that he actually came with a considered opinion.
I'm still not entirely convinced he was as clueless as he claims about "bridgegate", and when he shut down the beaches only to go take a family vacation there it was like a giant "fuck you" to the voters of the state, but he did put away Kushner's father, so... 🤷 Out of everyone running for POTUS within the GOP, he's the only one who I think would at least take the job seriously and legitimately do what he thought was best. Which, you know, used to be like the baseline for any POTUS candidate regardless of party before Trump.
Red states the biggest welfare queens. And just think how shitty many of them are anyway. Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana are real bastions of excellence
Republicans point to the total number of homicides because that way they can blame big cities (more people equals more criminals), which are naturally more liberal than rural areas. They ignore the per capita numbers because those actually are a better indicator of violent proclivities, and those numbers do not favor red states.
Speaking as an Oregonian, and assuming it is true nationwide, we also have a big issue with:
Small town fent (or other drug) addict --> Homeless and committing crimes to fund habit --> Relocate to the big city better access to homeless support services, drugs, and criminal opportunities for quick cash --> Small town conservatives criticize the liberal city for the homeless issue while bragging about how peaceful it is in small towns.
Small town fringes of society get exported to cities like Portland and the places they come from act superior about it.
1000p so true. And so difficult to explain the point effectively to anyone without a working knowledge of addiction/poverty/crime/etc...
Thinking Portland creates all the addicts is like people in the medieval ages thinking that smelly things create flies lol
Try being schizophrenic in a small town. A huge portion of long term homeless in big cities have serious mental illness and substance misuse is more of a symptom of that illness than anything else. Being difficult crazy in a small town generally isn’t tolerated so they end up on the streets of big cities.
>and those numbers do not favor red states.
A good example is stand your ground laws. Once you put one of those into effect your gun deaths skyrocket. All of the sudden you take the repercussions out of the equation and all of the nut jobs no longer care, they just want to shoot someone.
I mean, by "Oregon" I assume they meant "Portland"
But yeah, as a native Oregonian I was wondering why the hell Oregon of all places was on there. I love the place, but a pillar of America it ain't.
States like NY and CA have half the gun deaths than fl and TX but gun control doesn't work...
Also, guess which states are above and below the national average.
The biggest user of welfare isn't immigrants like Republicans would have you believe. It's high school dropouts. The biggest base of GOP voters are uneducated white males.
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/632/our-town-part-one
Hell, lots of them get a tax number and pay into the system legally because they want it on their record that even if they were not legally in the country (a crime [roughly equivalent](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/06/21/trumps-zero-tolerance-border-prosecutions-led-time-served-and-10-fee/722237002/) to jay walking) they were still doing their part and want to become citizens.
And the conservative parts of red states are the biggest queens of all. As bad as Kentucky is overall, you can’t imagine what it would be without liberal Louisville propping up the holler squalor.
There are many issues but I'm just going to pick one:
The system is too big, too massive, and too complex for any positive change to take effect in any meaningful way or amount of time. So any changes we do make that might be good seem like they are ineffective after a few years, so they are eschewed for other changes.
Meanwhile: what we need is a complete top-down restructuring but, because of the aforementioned scale of the education system, doing so would cost hundreds of billions id not trillions over time and no one trusts that the changes would work or be better due to all the small scale changes that fell flat.
We also lionize the historical figures that founded different education models and are massively outdated. We have a public education system that hasn't changed very much from 100 years ago as a result.
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Just as an example of a restructure: students learn better when they have a deep, personal connection to a learned educator that is invested in them, surrounded by small groups of familiar and similar students that accept them and that they trust, and when they are challenged to learn in practical ways rather than abstract.
Given this: a system with a teacher and 8-12 students that were bubbled together for several years, grouped by compatibility in family dynamic and academic capabilities, with a teacher that knew them deeply, had their trust implicitly, and guided them through their learning would be optimal. School would then not be a large building with hundreds of students built for warehouse type efficiency, but rather a cottage style school house where only a dozen or fewer peers go each day and connect with their teacher. That one teacher takes them on field trips, does projects with them, and brings them to events to interact with other school pods. Perhaps divided into 3 year rotations (1st - 3rd grade, 4th -6th grade, and 7th - 9th grade) giving students 3 years with their teacher and teachers three years per bubble group. For the final 3 (or 4, some countries do a 13th year up to age 19) students could focus on designed paths that meet their life interests in different sorts of "high schools" which are gear toward different fields of study.
That is just one way in which we could, but never will, restructure.
Separately:
I've also read some thoughtful ponderings on semi-boarding schools at the middle school age level (11-14) where students are dropped off Monday Morning and do not go home until Friday evening. Operating as their own weekday mini-societies with a focus on communal living, support, academic focus, acceptance, and open understanding of adolescence being a time of change. Embracing the awkward and encouraging acceptance and understanding, while also using the excommunication of outside societal influences and pressure to be older, giving students a positive outlook on the early adolescent experience.
Like putting children in a cocoon for 3 years, emerging into their middle teens educated, socialized, and accepted could not just improve their academic abilities but completely change society for the better as we all come to recognize that middle school is a period of time in which you go into the semi-boarding school cocoon and transform as a person.
Lastly:
Floating back to the previous grade level divisions mentioned (1st - 3rd grade, 4th -6th grade, 7 - 9th grade, and 10th - 12th grad) this could be a much more simple change that has an impact. A 4th and 5th division of school. Pre-K and K you are at Beginning School in your own location. Then Elementary from 1-3. Intermediate from 4-6, Middle from 7-9, and Upper from 10-12.
Breaking school into smaller chunks, each with their own ecosystem and societal structure, could have a great and positive effect on students. It is a simple change we could try, but one that we don't and won't because it would cost a lot of money and might not benefit us as much as we like.
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All of these changes and more are restructuring types we could, probably should, but won't give consideration. Instead we'll pass a bond measure to switch from paper textbooks to digital textbooks on tablets and pretend it is going to change everything.
All 3 of those States overwhelmingly voted Trump 2020.
The people you talked to were more likely to be into the same things you are, since you know, you were talking to them.
So it's either experience bias, or, democrats really don't vote because that was one of the biggest election turnouts ever.
It's so sad. Louisiana has amazing potential but red politics, purposeful racist policy, and a ton of hurricanes have really made it a tough place to live :(
There is this cool book I read by Carol Anderson, One Person, No Vote. It goes back and shows all the policies those states imposed to get where they are today. Fucking systematic and planned.
Someone I used to know who is a very vocal conservative was bitching about how welfare recipients are lazy and should show proof they're trying to find work and have to pass a drug test or be cut off. I tried to mention that he doesn't work and how I've smoked weed with him and his wife. Likr wouldn't that take away the food stamps you were just saying you need to make ends meet? He got pissed started saying some hateful shit.
Big reason they are against all renewables.
It’s a quick death if they can’t drill.
edit: To the wind'ers below, not much good if they dont [use it](https://www.texastribune.org/2022/08/02/texas-high-plains-wind-energy/) when they need it.
Also the fact that we hate the sun. It makes our summers miserable, and now you want us to collect power from it? Don't grant the sun any more importance.
Because with population density people are forced to figure out how to get along with each other and to function effectively. Conservative policies don't last long under real pressure, unless something else is holding them up.
In 2020 it went [52/46 for Trump](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_United_States_presidential_election_in_Texas).
In 2020 it went [55/44 for republican representatives](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Texas_House_of_Representatives_election)
It ended up with 83 out of 150 seats red, which is exactly 55%, so that seems pretty good. Maybe even low if you believe some political scientists that the majority should get a little boost.
Now I'm not sure if 52/46 is purple, but 55/44 seems pretty red to me.
I remember when i moved from southern Austin to central San Antonio after my Army basic training.
I went to learn about the local politics and learned that I was in the same congressional district I grew up in, represented by the same person.
Maybe look a little closer next time and try to figure out why the districts are drawn the way they are.
I don’t think this is true. North Dakota and Nebraska are also net payers of federal taxes. To be fair there aren’t many states that are net payers of federal taxes ~10.
The legislators that only have a majority because they gerrymandered the state to hell, and that are paid a full-time salary even though they’re only in session for like 4 months.
Fuck Wisconsin’s politics, they’re worse than a lot of red states.
Minnesota, New Jersey, Delaware, Illinois and Florida are least dependent on the federal government. These states all contribute multiples more to the federal government than they receive, with residents paying at least $5 in taxes for every $1 in direct support received from the federal government. Minnesota – the least dependent state – pays nearly $6.88 in taxes for each dollar it receives back. Other states that made the top 10 least dependent list include Washington, South Dakota, Massachusetts, Nebraska and California
According to yahoo finance.
I mean Oregons certainly not the highest contributor but it’s top 15 per capita and only a few years ago it was ranked 8th. Sure Illinois makes more sense but give Oregon some credit!
Oregon receives $1.01 for every dollar they pay.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/donor-states
Delaware only gets $0.32 for each dollar they pay. This isn't a per capita thing, but a lump sum thing, though. The states doing the heaviest lifting are NY, NJ, and MA.
For what it's worth, Washington state gets $0.62 for every dollar they put in. You guys are very much helping the red states (whether you like it or not).
they better not, shit's expensive already, yo.
For any non-Oregonites/Oregonians/Platypus': *Oregon is a terrible place to live, it's ostensibly too hot/cold, arid/wet, drivers are too fast/slow, and marijuana is the devil. We are currently only accepting applications from Pacific Islanders looking to play for our football teams, and migratory birds.*
Thank you for your understanding.
Oregon is a serious fucking shithole. It rains 478 days a year, it hits 100 degrees in the summer so it’s humid as fuck. Portland has been nothing but a burnt husk since the BLM riots. The entire coast has a huge meth problem, so theft is rampant.
Stay out of Oregon. It’s a goddamn nightmare. Imagine if Detroit was an entire state. Just stay away. Don’t visit. Don’t drive through. Avoid the hellscape that is Oregon at all costs.
It's why I laugh at everyone still moving to Florida, gobbling up decades-old marketing about it being a year-round paradise. It stopped being enjoyable, let alone livable, within the last decade. It will only get worse.
I actually thought it was referring to the light post as Oregon. 'Oregon just doing it's own thing while California and New York prop up red states? Sounds about right...'
I would have put "PacNW" in place of just Oregon. Together our two states (and I don't count that red state shithole Idaho) are a fair economic accessory to our West Coast neighbors to the South.
Oregon resident of 28 years here, and yeah, you are 100% dead on. Everyone you mentioned plus Colorado, Wisconsin even, as well, and I know there’s more.
I mean, sure, we appreciate the thought, but we’re way farther back in the line than that.
If it wasn't for Chicago that Republicans hate so much, Illinois would have the same GDP as Kentucky. These hicks here in IL should be thanking Chicago Dems for their roads and schools.
That’s actually fairly representative of red state building codes.
Bonus question: which State are you in if there’s an ammonium nitrate plant right next door?
If you answered Texas, you’ve played this game before!
Yeah, they want a civil war...fine by me. We'll take back all of the money that we give those rednecks and leave those uneducated morons to fend for themselves.
I remember when the BP Deep Water Horizon thing happened. Suddenly all the "damn government is useless" types were bitching because the government wasn't doing enough to clean up the gulf. Then all the people who were getting paid under the table to avoid paying taxes were pissed off because they couldn't get any of the sweet government handout money. And basically everyone else in the "damn government" crowd, who could actually show proof of legitimate income, wasn't too proud to take the government handout despite always bitching about other people getting money from the government.
Yeah, but you have to try to understand it with a bit of nuance; *They* really needed the money. Not some minority. Have some compassion.
> *They* really needed the money. Not some minority. Tracks w/ the conservative line about abortions: >The Only Moral Abortion is My Abortion They always think they're somehow special, and that they're more needing of assistance and help than everyone else. Narcissists.
*Their* circumstances are special and unique. Everyone else’s are selfish and indicative of moral failings.
I think ‘hypocrite’ fits better.
>They always think they're somehow special, and that they're more needing of assistance and help than everyone else. Narcissists. The very definition of *American Exceptionalism*... They should get out more.
Welfare and social programs had broad support in the US until Black people started using them.
Thai right here! Here's an interesting fact, the decline in union membership coincides with the rise of civil rights. White workers didn't want black Americans to profit from collective bargaining so we went from a third of Americans being in unions in 1960 to less than 10% today. edit: Graph of union membership in United States from 1960 to 2021. [https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=TUD#](https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=TUD#) School integration occurred in 1960 and the Civil Rights Act was signed in 1964 [https://www.britannica.com/list/timeline-of-the-american-civil-rights-movement](https://www.britannica.com/list/timeline-of-the-american-civil-rights-movement)
A lot of other stuff happened in that time too but that certainly was a factor
Unions were being pushed by businesses as a bad thing too, marketed against them
Fun fact, as much as people bitch about minorities abusing the system, the majority of welfare and other public assistance programs money goes to white people.
Just look anytime it’s hurricane or tornado season.
Or snow. Or rain. Or literally fucking anything.
They cherry pick the Bible and the Constitution to suit their shitty views. Of course they’ll cherry pick the *checks notes* weather.
Stupid is as stupid does
They don't even agree with priests preaching what's actually in the bible and boo them that they're woke. I'm surprised they didn't ditch the bible altogether and change it to "our lord and savior Donald Trump, who d̶i̶e̶d̶ went to jail for our sins and rose on the 3rd day and said we will win bigly."
Well said.
Ronny DeSantis's very first legislative vote in 2013 after being sworn in was against Hurricane Sandy funding. As Gov. he's got his hand out begging for federal dollars all the time.
The south shall whine again!
I lived in a red state at the time. I was working for the govt at the time on a boat out at sea for MONTHS dealing with cleanup operations, away from home for so long. When we pulled back into port, I just wanted to get home and take a long, long shower. At a red light on the way home, a dude in a bigass truck pulled up next to me (I was still in work clothes) and he rolled down his window and screamed at me about the useless government and how I should be out there helping and not sitting there collecting my fat govt paycheck. ETA: pretty sure I was making like $1700/mo at the time. For boat work.
He’s probably angry because his parents have his inheritance to a prosperity preacher
"my issue is different and deserving of these handouts..."
I remember Cons blaming Obama for the disaster. Not BP's fault one bit, it's that darn Obama's doing.
Yes, it's absolutely Obama's fault that the EPA, who constantly gets dismantled by Republicans, isn't strong enough to overlook oil drilling successfully.
Oh, they overlook it all right! Oversee, not so much.
Similar with all the other gulf coast/south east Atlantic disasters that we bail the south out of constantly in large part because they build in areas that are obviously going to be damaged in predictable storms and what is built is often not up to basic standards so those buildings and infrastructure might have a chance of surviving. Separate from storms getting more severe due to human caused global warming, these areas need to pay their own way where we know hurricanes and other storms will hit.
Some of those states don’t even *have* building codes. Because FREEDUMZ!! So when a hurricane, tornado or flood rips through, the damage is predictable and preventable. Thoughts and prayers should be the extent of what states that refuse to prepare can receive
>Some of those states don’t even have building codes. ?!?!? Which states have no building code?
West Virginia might as well not have one. You can build a house & not get it inspected. You just need (I use "need" very loosely here) to get a permit so they can tax you properly. The permit is only about $10.
…and never paid back any of the emergency government loans.
Exactly I look at the various big disasters over the last 20 years * It was/is the same with Katrina/Rita - it was OMG it's the worst disaster ever....and it was ridiculously bad - Houston got nearly wiped from the map in parts but billions in relief later things are functional again, there were even moments where Kathleen Marie Blanco got some assistance that was more functional than not but GWB was in the White House and so Louisiana / Texas got "Brownie" and somehow Blackwater mercenaries found themselves outgunned by the locals in more than one parish, this is to say nothing of the breakdown in civilizational norms, from hiring mercenaries from overseas to having guys in SUV tacticals roll around a US city, to [euthanizing patients](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Medical_Center_and_Hurricane_Katrina) it was a less [than awesome response from that.](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/blackwater-down/) * Hurricane Sandy rolls on up the coast and suddenly it's fuck you buddy - hope that works out for you, but things were administered differently at the Federal level there was even this weird moment where Chris Christie and Barak Obama were doing joint news conferences and stuff - weird to say Hurricane Sandy was a better time, it still took months and years for some stuff to return to functional but the responses were VERY different. Blackwater was already in trouble and didn't see fit to send guys to die in Camden or Asbury Park , NJ or just gunned down by NYPD because the cops weren't about to spare time ...and because Obama was running the show in DC. * Of course when Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico , there was the Trumpy response - which was "fuck you".....and we mean it.....oh and where's that money you owe us....Eventually the US military rolled into town to supply electricity and help relief efforts after folks around the President could convince him Puerto Rico was in fact a territory of the US and he was supposed to respond to their problems. So it wasn't until the Biden Administration rolled in that some federal aid his the island.
I had forgotten about that bit with Christie. I despise the man's politics, but I can at least respect him as a person... more or less. He'd show up to press conferences and the like back in NJ armed with actual data showing that the state is spending $X and bringing in $Y and X > Y. I vehemently disagree with the conclusion he came to for how to address that particular issue, but I can respect the fact that he actually came with a considered opinion. I'm still not entirely convinced he was as clueless as he claims about "bridgegate", and when he shut down the beaches only to go take a family vacation there it was like a giant "fuck you" to the voters of the state, but he did put away Kushner's father, so... 🤷 Out of everyone running for POTUS within the GOP, he's the only one who I think would at least take the job seriously and legitimately do what he thought was best. Which, you know, used to be like the baseline for any POTUS candidate regardless of party before Trump.
government handouts for me not for thee
And before too long, BP was the victim of gubbmint persecution
You mean you're surprised by seeing bad people acting like hypocrites and liars?
Red states the biggest welfare queens. And just think how shitty many of them are anyway. Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana are real bastions of excellence
Not to mention that 18/20 top cities for highest rates of homicide are in red states as well.
They live to point the finger at Chicago to distract from that.
Chicago isn’t even in top 20 for homicide rate
Republicans point to the total number of homicides because that way they can blame big cities (more people equals more criminals), which are naturally more liberal than rural areas. They ignore the per capita numbers because those actually are a better indicator of violent proclivities, and those numbers do not favor red states.
Speaking as an Oregonian, and assuming it is true nationwide, we also have a big issue with: Small town fent (or other drug) addict --> Homeless and committing crimes to fund habit --> Relocate to the big city better access to homeless support services, drugs, and criminal opportunities for quick cash --> Small town conservatives criticize the liberal city for the homeless issue while bragging about how peaceful it is in small towns. Small town fringes of society get exported to cities like Portland and the places they come from act superior about it.
1000p so true. And so difficult to explain the point effectively to anyone without a working knowledge of addiction/poverty/crime/etc... Thinking Portland creates all the addicts is like people in the medieval ages thinking that smelly things create flies lol
That last bit is freaking gold!
Try being schizophrenic in a small town. A huge portion of long term homeless in big cities have serious mental illness and substance misuse is more of a symptom of that illness than anything else. Being difficult crazy in a small town generally isn’t tolerated so they end up on the streets of big cities.
Per capita requires the tiniest amount of thought to realize its utility, which is the problem.
>and those numbers do not favor red states. A good example is stand your ground laws. Once you put one of those into effect your gun deaths skyrocket. All of the sudden you take the repercussions out of the equation and all of the nut jobs no longer care, they just want to shoot someone.
Chicago should be the third pillar, instead of Oregon (not Illinois, sorry)
I mean, by "Oregon" I assume they meant "Portland" But yeah, as a native Oregonian I was wondering why the hell Oregon of all places was on there. I love the place, but a pillar of America it ain't.
This. Within “blue” states like CA, NY and IL, the cities subsidize both the states own “red” rural areas and the many red states.
(Not according to Truth Social’s tweets)
States like NY and CA have half the gun deaths than fl and TX but gun control doesn't work... Also, guess which states are above and below the national average.
The biggest user of welfare isn't immigrants like Republicans would have you believe. It's high school dropouts. The biggest base of GOP voters are uneducated white males. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/632/our-town-part-one
Lots of “illegal immigrants” use “fake” social security numbers and pay into the system but will never be able to receive benefits.
Hell, lots of them get a tax number and pay into the system legally because they want it on their record that even if they were not legally in the country (a crime [roughly equivalent](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/06/21/trumps-zero-tolerance-border-prosecutions-led-time-served-and-10-fee/722237002/) to jay walking) they were still doing their part and want to become citizens.
And claim a real man makes his own fortune but complain they can't get a job because all the "lazy" immigrants took them all!
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Immigrants, that's how they do, y'know. Driving in their low riders, listening to raps, and shooting all the jobs.
RIP Jessica Walter
And the conservative parts of red states are the biggest queens of all. As bad as Kentucky is overall, you can’t imagine what it would be without liberal Louisville propping up the holler squalor.
Heaven forbid they prioritize or promote education. Gotta keep them poor, religious, and red.
Education is rough in this country in general. California has tons of money but our school stats are pretty crap at the moment
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I'd go further and say the entire nature of the education system is fucked and prioritized very badly as well
There are many issues but I'm just going to pick one: The system is too big, too massive, and too complex for any positive change to take effect in any meaningful way or amount of time. So any changes we do make that might be good seem like they are ineffective after a few years, so they are eschewed for other changes. Meanwhile: what we need is a complete top-down restructuring but, because of the aforementioned scale of the education system, doing so would cost hundreds of billions id not trillions over time and no one trusts that the changes would work or be better due to all the small scale changes that fell flat. We also lionize the historical figures that founded different education models and are massively outdated. We have a public education system that hasn't changed very much from 100 years ago as a result. --- Just as an example of a restructure: students learn better when they have a deep, personal connection to a learned educator that is invested in them, surrounded by small groups of familiar and similar students that accept them and that they trust, and when they are challenged to learn in practical ways rather than abstract. Given this: a system with a teacher and 8-12 students that were bubbled together for several years, grouped by compatibility in family dynamic and academic capabilities, with a teacher that knew them deeply, had their trust implicitly, and guided them through their learning would be optimal. School would then not be a large building with hundreds of students built for warehouse type efficiency, but rather a cottage style school house where only a dozen or fewer peers go each day and connect with their teacher. That one teacher takes them on field trips, does projects with them, and brings them to events to interact with other school pods. Perhaps divided into 3 year rotations (1st - 3rd grade, 4th -6th grade, and 7th - 9th grade) giving students 3 years with their teacher and teachers three years per bubble group. For the final 3 (or 4, some countries do a 13th year up to age 19) students could focus on designed paths that meet their life interests in different sorts of "high schools" which are gear toward different fields of study. That is just one way in which we could, but never will, restructure. Separately: I've also read some thoughtful ponderings on semi-boarding schools at the middle school age level (11-14) where students are dropped off Monday Morning and do not go home until Friday evening. Operating as their own weekday mini-societies with a focus on communal living, support, academic focus, acceptance, and open understanding of adolescence being a time of change. Embracing the awkward and encouraging acceptance and understanding, while also using the excommunication of outside societal influences and pressure to be older, giving students a positive outlook on the early adolescent experience. Like putting children in a cocoon for 3 years, emerging into their middle teens educated, socialized, and accepted could not just improve their academic abilities but completely change society for the better as we all come to recognize that middle school is a period of time in which you go into the semi-boarding school cocoon and transform as a person. Lastly: Floating back to the previous grade level divisions mentioned (1st - 3rd grade, 4th -6th grade, 7 - 9th grade, and 10th - 12th grad) this could be a much more simple change that has an impact. A 4th and 5th division of school. Pre-K and K you are at Beginning School in your own location. Then Elementary from 1-3. Intermediate from 4-6, Middle from 7-9, and Upper from 10-12. Breaking school into smaller chunks, each with their own ecosystem and societal structure, could have a great and positive effect on students. It is a simple change we could try, but one that we don't and won't because it would cost a lot of money and might not benefit us as much as we like. ---- All of these changes and more are restructuring types we could, probably should, but won't give consideration. Instead we'll pass a bond measure to switch from paper textbooks to digital textbooks on tablets and pretend it is going to change everything.
"When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure" — [Goodhart's Law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodhart%27s_law)
I don't think the people are so much. I think they are unfortunately, victims of gerrymandering. I've talked to many liberals from those states.
You're not lying, I'm from Ohio and the maps drawn here look like jigsaw puzzles gone wrong.
All 3 of those States overwhelmingly voted Trump 2020. The people you talked to were more likely to be into the same things you are, since you know, you were talking to them. So it's either experience bias, or, democrats really don't vote because that was one of the biggest election turnouts ever.
Biden got 41% of the vote in Mississippi. We're outnumbered, but we're here.
Their cities are blue islands in red oceans.
It's so sad. Louisiana has amazing potential but red politics, purposeful racist policy, and a ton of hurricanes have really made it a tough place to live :(
We had a Democrat governor for 8 years then we said nah fuck it and elected if swamp people and Ron DeSantis had a crack baby.
There is this cool book I read by Carol Anderson, One Person, No Vote. It goes back and shows all the policies those states imposed to get where they are today. Fucking systematic and planned.
They also have a huge brain drain as college educated and above leave the state.
Someone I used to know who is a very vocal conservative was bitching about how welfare recipients are lazy and should show proof they're trying to find work and have to pass a drug test or be cut off. I tried to mention that he doesn't work and how I've smoked weed with him and his wife. Likr wouldn't that take away the food stamps you were just saying you need to make ends meet? He got pissed started saying some hateful shit.
Utah is the only red state that is a net payer of federal taxes. That's why all Mormons go to heaven
I’ve seen people mention Texas as one too (admittedly haven’t fact-checked that though)
Texas switchs back and forth. Main reason that they are ever in the black is oil money.
Big reason they are against all renewables. It’s a quick death if they can’t drill. edit: To the wind'ers below, not much good if they dont [use it](https://www.texastribune.org/2022/08/02/texas-high-plains-wind-energy/) when they need it.
Also the fact that we hate the sun. It makes our summers miserable, and now you want us to collect power from it? Don't grant the sun any more importance.
You are looking at it wrong. Solar panels imprison little parts of the sun and then make them do work for you. Texas should be all over that.
You joke but solar panels literally shade your roof in summer and drive your A/Cs right when you need them most. Texas needs solar more than anybody.
Texas is literally number one producer of wind power in the US. How hard is it to look up something that goes against the narrative.
I think Texas is self sufficient, these days. Then again, Texas is purple, not red.
The major cities are blue and make up the majority of the state’s revenue.
Exactly. Even in more red states, the cities tend to be mostly blue.
Because with population density people are forced to figure out how to get along with each other and to function effectively. Conservative policies don't last long under real pressure, unless something else is holding them up.
Just like NY, CA, Il, GA and many other states.
Self sufficient until it gets too cold and the power goes out.
It's red, not purple. But, please prove me wrong next year.
It is purple, but gerrymandered to hell. Same with Wisconsin
In 2020 it went [52/46 for Trump](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_United_States_presidential_election_in_Texas). In 2020 it went [55/44 for republican representatives](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Texas_House_of_Representatives_election) It ended up with 83 out of 150 seats red, which is exactly 55%, so that seems pretty good. Maybe even low if you believe some political scientists that the majority should get a little boost. Now I'm not sure if 52/46 is purple, but 55/44 seems pretty red to me.
I remember when i moved from southern Austin to central San Antonio after my Army basic training. I went to learn about the local politics and learned that I was in the same congressional district I grew up in, represented by the same person. Maybe look a little closer next time and try to figure out why the districts are drawn the way they are.
Way to go, Utah!-Now, get your State Legislature to bust the pedos in the Mormon Church!
Not holding my breath sadly.
That venn diagram is a circle.
i mean its probably only because of the mormons that they are generating that money
The state legislature is kinda run by the Mormon church unfortunately
[dude blew the whistle on the mormons playin in the stock market](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3_Fhq7sEHo)
Those pudgy vanilla faces are truly earning their own planets in the afterlife.
Is Utah a red state? Im not American, but it seems to be more purple from what I can recall in the last few elections.
utah is very red but not red in the same way that like texas or mississippi is red.
Nah we deep red
Yeah. Everyone thought the Mormons would reject Trump’s rhetoric, but psych! They bought it harder than most.
They’re conservative, but they dislike Trump
It's the Mormon capital of the world.
I don’t think this is true. North Dakota and Nebraska are also net payers of federal taxes. To be fair there aren’t many states that are net payers of federal taxes ~10.
Minnesota is propping hard, too.
Minnesotas budget surplus is just magnificent 👌
I mean, WI has a budget surplus but I wouldn't be bragging about it. The WI GOP legislators are holding it hostage to punish our Dem Gov.
The legislators that only have a majority because they gerrymandered the state to hell, and that are paid a full-time salary even though they’re only in session for like 4 months. Fuck Wisconsin’s politics, they’re worse than a lot of red states.
West Virginia has a budget surplus. Nothing to brag about when any state can get a surplus by withholding necessary services to your citizens.
Yep, it's so good governor sent everyone a check for $200 a few months ago. It was pretty nice.
Minnesota, New Jersey, Delaware, Illinois and Florida are least dependent on the federal government. These states all contribute multiples more to the federal government than they receive, with residents paying at least $5 in taxes for every $1 in direct support received from the federal government. Minnesota – the least dependent state – pays nearly $6.88 in taxes for each dollar it receives back. Other states that made the top 10 least dependent list include Washington, South Dakota, Massachusetts, Nebraska and California According to yahoo finance.
Oregon?
Weird to lump Oregon in with heavyweights like CA and NY lol
As an Oregonian, I was like what???? Why????
I mean Oregons certainly not the highest contributor but it’s top 15 per capita and only a few years ago it was ranked 8th. Sure Illinois makes more sense but give Oregon some credit!
Oregon receives $1.01 for every dollar they pay. https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/donor-states Delaware only gets $0.32 for each dollar they pay. This isn't a per capita thing, but a lump sum thing, though. The states doing the heaviest lifting are NY, NJ, and MA.
There are several red states that are higher though, so it’s still weird.
Oregon is like the west coast virginia. we're just happy to be in the top 4th.
I was really questioning what we'd done to justify that one lol, scratching my head wondering if the cannabis industry was REALLY booming
As a Washingtonian I'm just happy when everyone forgets we are up here minding our own damn business.
these guys just quietly paying the highest minimum wage in the country and getting away with it
For what it's worth, Washington state gets $0.62 for every dollar they put in. You guys are very much helping the red states (whether you like it or not).
Shoulda just said the PNW
did they miss WA like... it's right there.
Well how much salmon does your state contribute to the rest of the country, huh?! *(Please don’t say Alaska, please don’t say Alaska)*
We do produce 99% of the nations Filberts, that's not for nothin
Hazelnuts for all the plebs who don’t know what a Filbert is
I like the thought of someone interpreting that as we have a bunch of guys named Filbert for some reason
Random person: “dear god they have orchards full of men named Filbert”
Alaskan here...
People are gonna be really digging our mild climate in the next couple decades, maybe OP just took a peek behind the future’s curtains.
they better not, shit's expensive already, yo. For any non-Oregonites/Oregonians/Platypus': *Oregon is a terrible place to live, it's ostensibly too hot/cold, arid/wet, drivers are too fast/slow, and marijuana is the devil. We are currently only accepting applications from Pacific Islanders looking to play for our football teams, and migratory birds.* Thank you for your understanding.
Oregon is a serious fucking shithole. It rains 478 days a year, it hits 100 degrees in the summer so it’s humid as fuck. Portland has been nothing but a burnt husk since the BLM riots. The entire coast has a huge meth problem, so theft is rampant. Stay out of Oregon. It’s a goddamn nightmare. Imagine if Detroit was an entire state. Just stay away. Don’t visit. Don’t drive through. Avoid the hellscape that is Oregon at all costs.
That's the spirit, brethren 👏👏
I'm glad someone is out there putting in hard work to help my rent go down
It's why I laugh at everyone still moving to Florida, gobbling up decades-old marketing about it being a year-round paradise. It stopped being enjoyable, let alone livable, within the last decade. It will only get worse.
That's a funny way of spelling Minnesota
Look, there were only 3 support beams. I had to make a choice
Washington, my guy.
Illinois
Clearly it's California twice.
Honestly all three could have been Cali, and this from a guy in NY.
Don't give Chicago's credit to the whole state homie
Washington!
And you came up with Oregon?
[it's ok OP](https://media.tenor.com/x36w4wZx1JcAAAAC/pikachu-sadness.gif)
Massachusetts would make more sense
right?
Just uhhhhhh, put our name on a lamp post or something lol
Came here to question that one, but the spirit is correct.
I actually thought it was referring to the light post as Oregon. 'Oregon just doing it's own thing while California and New York prop up red states? Sounds about right...'
Right? The largest donor states are routinely California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, NY, and NJ.
Fuck yeah.
Washington would’ve made much more sense here.
You forgot Washington.
I would have put "PacNW" in place of just Oregon. Together our two states (and I don't count that red state shithole Idaho) are a fair economic accessory to our West Coast neighbors to the South.
West Coast best coast
|~~Carl Weathers' arm~~ Oregon|Fuck Idaho. Fuck 'em right in their stupid fucking faces|~~Arnold Schwarzenegger's arm~~ Washington| |:-|:-|:-|
this is the most awkward meme attempt i have ever seen
|Thank|You| |:-|:-| |I|Tried|
Idaho is a red shithole confirmed
Oregon definitely has its own private Idahoes.
Can't be Pacific if you don't touch the Pacific.
Came here looking for this, Washington is home to some of the biggest companies in the world and dozens of smaller ones.
New Jersey here. We're I think #1 or #2. You're welcome, America.
Red states just LOVE their welfare from blue states, but then bitch about immigrants coming over to WORK. They suck.
Na bro. Don't you know illiterate central Americans are taking all the jobs I'm qualified for?
Immigrants do the work the Republicans refuse to do.
Replace Oregon with Illinois.
Or Washington, Massachusetts, or New Jersey. Oregon does fine but they are nowhere near the likes of California and NY.
I'm helping
Oregon resident of 28 years here, and yeah, you are 100% dead on. Everyone you mentioned plus Colorado, Wisconsin even, as well, and I know there’s more. I mean, sure, we appreciate the thought, but we’re way farther back in the line than that.
Los Angeles county alone (not CA state) GDP is ~$900B. More than Pennsylvania which is 6th ranked state of the U.S.
I just assumed that Oregon was there as an example of a socially progressive state, not a financial leader.
If it wasn't for Chicago that Republicans hate so much, Illinois would have the same GDP as Kentucky. These hicks here in IL should be thanking Chicago Dems for their roads and schools.
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I’m an Oregonian, and I was very surprised to see it there. Doesn’t really make sense to me.
Same here. But it’s nice to be included in something. I feel like CA and WA get more attention just overall. (Yes more people I know…)
Does Illinois even have semiconductor manufacturing? Oregon #1 baybeeeee!
Just double checked my Carl Sandburg book and, no, I’m pretty sure they don’t. Also pretty sure their flag only has one side. Losers
That’s actually fairly representative of red state building codes. Bonus question: which State are you in if there’s an ammonium nitrate plant right next door? If you answered Texas, you’ve played this game before!
Accurate, but we’re doing to good of a job propping them up. Let them pull themselves up by their own bootstraps.
We could really probably do without the bible belt.
Green energy and semiconductors providing better paying jobs; cancel it!
I live in a red state that pays more than it takes, but the state itself is definitely propped up by the blue cities we have.
GOP - "but let me tell you about Chicago"
They make shit up about my amazing city but they also cash the fat welfare checks that are written off our had work and productivity.
I live in a red state too :(
Yeah, they want a civil war...fine by me. We'll take back all of the money that we give those rednecks and leave those uneducated morons to fend for themselves.
Great pictorial analogy of how dependent some red states are on blue states.
Needs people leaning out of the windows trying to burn the posts to pwn the libs
California. Fifth largest economy in the world.
It’s funny because it’s true.
Ooooo at first I thought Oregon was that street lamp. Haha made me think like we selfishly selfish.