Southern Republicans are making America into a 3rd wrld ctry

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Because they outsourced. Detroit lost a lot of industry. People lost their jobs. Simple logic.

But all in all, the south is shabbier than the north. I've been to both parts and in between. The south has a lot more poverty spread all around and uglier towns. The ones we have around here look horrible, for the most part, so cheap and in such bad shape. It's just disgusting.

Last edited by ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo on 20 Dec 2013, 1:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Most corporations used to be fiercely loyal to their geographic location way back when. That began to change when cities/regions realized they could steal businesses away from other cities/regions with tax incentives. With the development of international free trade and and ever increasing emphasis of increasing corporate profits every quarter, it has gotten to the point that corporations could care less about their employees, those living around their locations, or the nations that they supposedly support.

On thing for sure, New England and the northeast are full of these pretty little cookie cutter towns that are so darling and cute while the south, in many locations, is just ugly looking. No denying it. I often wonder why they can't just do what the north does, gussy the town up a bit? Why is that so difficult to manage?

One word: money.

The north has plenty of "old money" and always has. The northern elite don't like their areas looking unpleasant.

No excuse. We are sitting on billions of dollars here. The money is there, make no mistake about it. It is HERE and don't believe the stupid elitist hype about how there isn't any. There is plenty. It's just the ones in charge want everything to be ugly.

Economic opportunity is lowest in the Old Confederacy:

http://www.alternet.org/economy/economi ... ave-states

Tourist dollars help.It costs so much to restore old buildings.Many communities just don't have the money.
Eureka Springs,Ar.,tourist dollars at work.

The small town of Jasper,Ar.Another tourist destination.

Had trouble with that last image.

There may be some Lefties who enjoy shooting guns, and some Righties who would like guns to be controlled.

But I will concede that, in a Venn diagram, there would be very little intersection, given the way that American politics line up at the moment.

This has everything to do with chronic underinvestment in the South, and generally horrible growth strategies that eliminate much of the opportunity found in the Bostons and San Franciscos of the world. Institutional racism may be a factor, but is frankly an ancillary factor in both trends, and is no longer the driving force. It isn't even legal. I remember this study causing a big splash when it was released, and sprawl seemed to have a greater correlation with inequality than any other measure. And Southern cities are very sprawling.

Besides, you can find poverty and "third-world" conditions just about anywhere you look. Buffalo may have greater economic opportunity by the measures of this survey, but they have an extremely low median household income. Combine that with a vacancy rate well above 30 percent and some ancient housing stock, you have the saddest looking city I have ever seen.

The economy is a very complex thing, and infinite factors determine which places are doing ok, and which places aren't.

For the longest time, Mississippi has been the poorest state in the country. But it isn't because the people are "inbred rednecks" (in fact, nearly half the state is African-American), it's because there is hardly any industry there. Before the Civil War, their economy was based almost entirely on cotton, and after the war, they hadn't adequately diversified their economy.

As for Detroit, the city began its decline in the early 1970s, in wake of the Arab oil embargo. People wanted smaller, more fuel-efficient cars, and the Big 3 + AMC couldn't crank them out fast enough to compete with Toyota, VW, etc. So people started buying the imports.

It's tragic how poor people can allow themselves to be manipulated by racism, religion, homophobia, and gun rights to vote against their own economic and social interests by the powerful who obviously see them as nothing as an exploitable burden.