Dear Red States ... A Classic. (New York, Union: transplants, insurance, crimes)

[UnAtheist]

Originally Posted by suzook

it amazes me how just because a democrat might favor pro choice, no one will even listen to anything else they have to offer. how f$#king stupid can people be? and btw where was "god" helping bush? boy did he do a great job.

Killing babies has always been murder no matter how you color it! Bush was not perfect and no he did not cause global warming and some stupid lefties think! Bush is gone or soon will be and you get what you deserve...Obama! I think Obama is like the antichrist and will probably be the worst president we ever had. Obama is a pied piper and you people will follow him off the cliff!!!!

[azzurrony]

You guys are missing the point. There are actually people on here who truly believe Blue States are "smarter" and if you voted for Obama you are a spur to the economy. That kind of simple minded logic is what divides this country in the first place.

Many of our Southern States have been booming over the last 10 yrs and it's not because they happen to have Obama supporters in certain sections. LOL.

It's because the Governors and legislatures there cut the FAT. They cut wasteful spending, lowered taxes (sales, income, property, corporate, etc.), passed ethics reforms to crack down on corruption (that we see in Long Island everyday), cut red tape to make it easier for businesses to open and start, and they encouraged research and development.

I'm originally from Western PA and now live in Long Island. But, I spent 7 years down south for university and law school. The south is full of hard working, very intelligent, industrious Americans from all walks of life. Frankly, I've seen a lot more signs of intelligence and ingenuity there than I have in my 5 yrs on Long Island. We would be much better off if we could follow many of those small government ideas in the south, rather than live with the local government cronies and corruption here on Long Island.

[azzurrony]

Unatheist

I think what's most disturbing about the Obama movement is the complete and utter lack of perspective his followers have. He is the second coming to them, and all of their ills will be removed. I keep hearing people saying things like "I don't have to worry about filling my tank of gas. I don't have to worry about my job...or having enough money for my kids education."

The danger of Obama is that he could breed a mentality of dependance on the Federal government to solve your problems. We all know that is ridiculous. I almost feel a bit sorry for him. Expectations are so high, no man could live up to them.

[azzurrony]

Originally Posted by Smash255

You have quite a few people who are near retirement or retiring taking the incomes they earned in NY and moving down south for the lower cost of living in retirement (my parents are doing just that as they are moving to S.C, just outside of Charlotte). In some cases the trade off might work out, they have jobs where the difference in incomes between the two areas might not be as large. However the fact of the matter is crime rates are much higher down south, the quality of the schools are much lower than LI (talking as a whole instead of doing the cherry picking of districts game) and the incomes are also far low. For example the median income in Bentonville is basically half of Nassau County, OkC its less than half of Nassau County

Anyway point is the trade off does work for some people which is why some have moved down there, but it surely isn't for everyone as you try to suggest.

Smash...those might be the median income stats, but cost of living down there is less than half of what it is up here. Housing in Arkansas is 65% lower on avg than Nassau county. That's staggering, but just the start of the difference.

[Smash255]

Originally Posted by azzurrony

You guys are missing the point. There are actually people on here who truly believe Blue States are "smarter" and if you voted for Obama you are a spur to the economy. That kind of simple minded logic is what divides this country in the first place.

Many of our Southern States have been booming over the last 10 yrs and it's not because they happen to have Obama supporters in certain sections. LOL.

It's because the Governors and legislatures there cut the FAT. They cut wasteful spending, lowered taxes (sales, income, property, corporate, etc.), passed ethics reforms to crack down on corruption (that we see in Long Island everyday), cut red tape to make it easier for businesses to open and start, and they encouraged research and development.

I'm originally from Western PA and now live in Long Island. But, I spent 7 years down south for university and law school. The south is full of hard working, very intelligent, industrious Americans from all walks of life. Frankly, I've seen a lot more signs of intelligence and ingenuity there than I have in my 5 yrs on Long Island. We would be much better off if we could follow many of those small government ideas in the south, rather than live with the local government cronies and corruption here on Long Island.

Something I think we can all agree on is more should be done here on LI to cut wasteful spending, and its something that those on both sides of the political spectrum are guilty of. With that being said the difference between the services on LI and much of the south are pretty massive. The difference between the quality of the education is pretty stark, as are the incomes, poverty and the crime rate. This is even more drastic once you get outside some of the areas that have already been discussed.

[Smash255]

Originally Posted by azzurrony

Smash...those might be the median income stats, but cost of living down there is less than half of what it is up here. Housing in Arkansas is 65% lower on avg than Nassau county. That's staggering, but just the start of the difference.

The difference in incomes actually is larger than what those stats make it appear since we have more retirees here. The gap between the working population is even larger than that While housing costs are pbviously much lower, other costs aren't such as cars, food, etc

[azzurrony]

Smash,

There are historical reasons that some part of the south are depressed. No one denies there are some very poor sections there....but frankly, those can be found in "Blue" states. I can take you to parts of Michigan and PA, for example, that would scare you to death.

However, the point is that there are many "Red" states doing very well. There are many smart reforms going on down there. The tendancy for many NYers is to ignore these successes and keep their status quo. Unfortunately, it's catching up with all of us. If Blue states don't begin to cut taxes, cut spending, give corporations incentives to move here, stop the local corruption, break apart unions, etc. then its just downhill. (Ie...our best and brightest who benefitted from the good schools will move away to greener pastures).

[suzook]

Originally Posted by UnAtheist

Bush is gone or soon will be and you get what you deserve...Obama! I think Obama is like the antichrist

first of all we need to be as one and SUPPORT our new president elect. "I" wont get what i deserve, it is all of us that live in this country. and second of all obama is the ANTICHRIST? people like you are nothing but trouble for this country. i am done with this thread you are an a#$hole

[jonjj]

This whole red-blue thing is really annoying, and now old news. Each state has both factions leaning one way or the other. Complex issues do not get resolved with simple solutions.

[Smash255]

Originally Posted by azzurrony

Smash,

There are historical reasons that some part of the south are depressed. No one denies there are some very poor sections there....but frankly, those can be found in "Blue" states. I can take you to parts of Michigan and PA, for example, that would scare you to death.

However, the point is that there are many "Red" states doing very well. There are many smart reforms going on down there. The tendancy for many NYers is to ignore these successes and keep their status quo. Unfortunately, it's catching up with all of us. If Blue states don't begin to cut taxes, cut spending, give corporations incentives to move here, stop the local corruption, break apart unions, etc. then its just downhill. (Ie...our best and brightest who benefitted from the good schools will move away to greener pastures).

Of course there are very depressed and poor sections of blue states and well off portions of red states. Some of the areas in the south are doing quite well, however as a whole you still have stark differences in income levels, poverty levels, crime rate, quality of the schools, etc and in quite a few cases these gaps have increased over the past few years, not decreased.