Good work, oh loyal soldiers! Appalachia has claimed 10 new counties... (Weston: credit, big house)

[WVUPharm2007]

LINK

Bush signed a measure Oct. 9 that gives 10 additional counties in Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia access to about $87 million in federal money set aside this year for poor mountain communities to pay for economic improvements.

Philly, Louisville, and Cleveland are at our doorstep...yes...all to plan...soon we shall control the world. :thumbup:

[David Kennedy]

That's enough land to succeed from the dis-union and form a little country...because we speak our own language like the Quebecians...we could do it...

We could call it the Red-Neck land of NOBAMA.....a joke ...a joke...

I see it has taken in ALL of the redneck area of Pennsi...wonder how those guys feel now?...and all those Clevelanders who always bad mouth us...part of Appi-land.. somebody could make a killing selling them Hick Kits ( black hillbilly hat, corncob pipe and a liquior jug with xxx on the side...)

87 million? not much money...the coffers must be getting low...considering the recent BAILOUT with another one coming just before the Christmas/Kwanza or Ramadan gift or gun buying season...

Seriously, with the tidal changes expected in the next 100 years...and this area being so important to the country.
I would expect the Federal Government to take a larger role in the development and care of this region...

It's as if our Region ( Uniontown/Pittsburgh to Weston, Wv) just got larger...bring it (those billions) on !!!!

[Hinton Bound]

...All I need is $300K to build a timber frame house... Where do I pick up my check? Oh, I see the "counties" are to get it... guess the citizens will get the hose again!

[snorpus]

It's time to annex the rest of Ohio, and maybe Indiana. Make them colonies. We can use the flatlanders' corn and wheat in our stills.

Hope those new counties haven't spent all that $87 million yet... There's 200 or so counties already in App-land, so that's only $400K or so each. Just enough to put 3 or 4 pols' relatives on the payroll. Or let HintonBound add another couple of bedrooms.

[vec101]

When I had heard about this, I called friends and relatives in NE Ohio where I grew up - boy did I give them a ribbing. I've been teased since I moved to WV. They were pretty shocked to learn they are now App folk also.

It does burn me up - just typical govt. Screw up a program meant to help historically poorer areas - take it from them and give it to states where the folks looked down upon those from Appalachia.

[WVUPharm2007]

Hell, I think it's hilarious (in a sad way). Once everyone figures out that being considered Appalachian is worth $400k, we'll have 30 new counties next year!

[Hinton Bound]

Originally Posted by vec101

- take it from them and give it to states where the folks looked down upon those from Appalachia.

Redistribution of wealth; get used to it

Some kids are out trick-or-treating, and come to a nice big house. The owner opens the door, and in unison, the kids yell "TRICK-OR-TREAT!". The guy looks at the full bags of candy the kids are carrying and says " I'm going to take 75% of the candy you've collected, and I'm going to give it to the kids who were too lazy to go out and get it themselves." "Great", said the kids, "another Obama supporter!"

~Mark

[WVUPharm2007]

Unfortunately, wealth needs "redistributed" or else we'll get vast stratification of wealth, the economy would die, and we'd be under the control of a plutocracy. The only thing as crazy as socialism is libertarianism.

[Hinton Bound]

Originally Posted by WVUPharm2007

Unfortunately, wealth needs "redistributed" or else we'll get vast stratification of wealth, the economy would die, and we'd be under the control of a plutocracy. The only thing as crazy as socialism is libertarianism.

The you will have no problem giving me 1/2 of your money?

[SIZE=3]Notice that while our economic problems are always blamed on corporations, greed, capitalism, or a mysterious "business cycle," the solutions are always presumed to come from government. When the economy falters, the public clamors for the government to do something- and when the economy does well, politicians take credit for the good times caused by their sound economic policies. This reflects the pervasive attitude in America that government should "run" the economy.

But should government run the economy in a free society? Remember, there is a simple description for government control of the economy: socialism. America, however, was founded as a capitalist country. The Constitution grants Congress exceedingly limited regulatory and tax powers, because the founders were tired of having their business affairs managed by the Crown. So they created a strictly limited government, which allowed freedom and capitalism to flourish.

In a capitalist economy, the government acts only as a referee by protecting property rights, enforcing contracts, and prohibiting force and fraud. Because our modern federal government has strayed so far from its limited constitutional powers, it controls the economy far more than the founders intended. As a result, our economy is becoming more and more socialist. Federal taxes, regulations, welfare, subsidies, wage controls, and price controls, along with Fed manipulation of interest rates and the money supply, all represent socialist government intervention in the economy. No matter what the Democrats or Republicans want to call it, socialism is socialism. We should have the honesty to identify exactly what is being advocated when some call for even more government control of the economy.
Centralized economic planning is disastrous for every society that employs it. From the former Soviet Union to present day China, planned economies have produced little but hardship and bloodshed. The reason for this is simple human nature, because individuals have little incentive to produce when the fruits of their labors are stripped from them. Both history and economic theory demonstrate conclusively that government-run economies lower the standard of living for everyone except government elites charged with the "planning." By contrast, capitalism raises the standard of living for everyone in a society. More importantly, free market capitalism is the only moral economic system because it is the only free economic system. Socialism, communism, and authoritarianism- variants on the same collectivist theme- all use immoral government force to control the economic lives of individuals.
If we ever hope to enjoy real and lasting prosperity in this country, we must redefine our view of the proper role of government. It is tempting during difficult times to demand that the government "do something," but a free society is defined by what its government does not do.

[/SIZE]

[WVUPharm2007]

I wouldn't have any problem giving the government half if there was reason for it. Take the depression. The rich were taxed 90%...and there was just cause....there was vast wealth stratification. Same with WWII...there was an enormous war going on...huge taxes were justified.

It SHOULD regulate the economy, actually. If there was no regulation, the economy would spiral out of control. Giant, powerful monopolies with nothing keeping them in check. There needs to be a BALANCE between what the conservatives want and what the liberals want. Taxes are needed. Free enterprise is needed. The crazy pie-in-the-sky theory that either pure socialism or pure capitalism are "ideal" is shallow at best. It's all crazy theory that can't possibly work in the real world. If anything, the US has proven that heavily mixed economies are the most viable because the high degree to which power, money, and resources are spread about prevents a non-sustainable economy from forming. Utopian libertarianism is just as childish and pipedreamy as socialism. I mean, sure, it would "work". Of course feudalism "works", too. As do dictatorships. The stratification of power that would manifest from a "hands off" government isn't one in which I wouldn't want to live with. Freedom would then be defined as what the 0.1% of the people that control 99.99% of the wealth will think it is. Sure, there will be freedom, alright. There is only one country in the world where the government allows the free market to do as it pleases. It's called Somalia. Viva, free market capitalism.

I actually like the US system. There IS free enterprise. There IS "incentive" to work. And at the same time, there is a safety net of sorts. Very mixed....very sustainable....very nice....based upon what works, not what a bunch of nerds writing philosophy books about "to each to his need" OR the "free hand" think it should be in their cracked out utopia-seeking minds.

ANYWAY...back on topic. US of Appalachia is soon, boys...we're taking over.