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It is interesting how the tables have turned. For much of Atlanta's history, the rural parts of Georgia wielded most of the power in the state. Hopefully Savannah's growth will be able to bring more prosperity for rural Georgia. Do do think Atlanta and state should support building the infrastructure for internet. We should do that for urban and rural communities. Georgia should have taken the medicaid expansion. That would have helped the rural hospitals. Ideology can and is often harmful to its holders.
Living in Savannah I don't consider us part of rural Georgia...
Rural america is reaping what they have sowed in their voting history. They have embraced the koch brothers philosophy of small government/low taxes, now they are jealous when they look over the fence at the booming cities with their new toys & plenty of tax $$'s. Now they want some of those tax dollars so they can move forward, have high speed internet, new bridges, etc.
I believe the state should and by extension rural Georgia would pay for MARTA heavy rail expansion. We are all people with different plights. The rural areas of our state are suffering. I'm not saying that Atlanta is growing at their expense but what do other urban areas stand to gain if rural areas fall? This secession stunt is a cry for help as its petitioners have indicated. Atlanta and the other urban areas may have a chance to mend a broken bridge. The state has done a crappy job supporting "the two Georgias" proportionally to their populations.
You're making it sound as-if Atlanta and the state have done nothing and have openly made things worse.
Reality is we have been siphoning money away for years.
That is how the Atlanta area grew from 3 million to 6 million people with record low per capita transportation investment, while the state's conservative (rural/exurban controlled legislature) passed the GRIP program mandating 4 lane roads with medians across all all rural areas of the state, including routes that only attract 2000/cars/day.
Living in Savannah I don't consider us part of rural Georgia...
Rural america is reaping what they have sowed in their voting history. They have embraced the koch brothers philosophy of small government/low taxes, now they are jealous when they look over the fence at the booming cities with their new toys & plenty of tax $$'s. Now they want some of those tax dollars so they can move forward, have high speed internet, new bridges, etc.
Savannah is definitely not them and I certainly wouldn't allow them to take Savannah with them.
However, as much as I don't like the pro-conservative policies, I don't think it is a reap what they sowed issue.
The harsh reality is small towns don't support efficient places for higher end business and industrial development. Companies naturally follow education, large numbers, potential employees, and other things that make their operations more efficient.
Small towns rise and fall with farming and resource extraction. On occasion there are a few other things at place, like tourism (vacationing).
The problem is while we are growing richer as a country, we still want cheap food and farming on a small/medium scale is inefficient.
That is a long-term shift that is mostly market driven and is really the root cause of the down fall of Georgia's most rural counties.
Savannah is definitely not them and I certainly wouldn't allow them to take Savannah with them.
However, as much as I don't like the pro-conservative policies, I don't think it is a reap what they sowed issue.
The harsh reality is small towns don't support efficient places for higher end business and industrial development. Companies naturally follow education, large numbers, potential employees, and other things that make their operations more efficient.
Small towns rise and fall with farming and resource extraction. On occasion there are a few other things at place, like tourism (vacationing).
The problem is while we are growing richer as a country, we still want cheap food and farming on a small/medium scale is inefficient.
That is a long-term shift that is mostly market driven and is really the root cause of the down fall of Georgia's most rural counties.
Agree with what you said above, but what is happening, rural america is looking over the fence & see how good their city neighbors have it.
Fully funded schools, we want even talk about good schools, just fully funded going 180 days a year 5 days a week. Several states are on 4 day weeks...
High speed internet, believe in the hands off approach to business instead of regulation of a public utility.
Shopping... Supermarkets are closing throughout the country & being replaced by dollar stores. Access to fresh food is slowly disappearing.
Higher taxes... Many rural communities have lost major employers in their areas & the communities counted on these employers as a significant part of their tax base. Which is why property taxes have been raised to support the schools.
Recreation/quality of life... A lot of things to do in bigger cities... Concerts/sports leagues/entertainment etc.
Most important... Jobs Most rural communities don't have a lot of job options & it makes it tough to change careers.
You're making it sound as-if Atlanta and the state have done nothing and have openly made things worse.
Reality is we have been siphoning money away for years.
That is how the Atlanta area grew from 3 million to 6 million people with record low per capita transportation investment, while the state's conservative (rural/exurban controlled legislature) passed the GRIP program mandating 4 lane roads with medians across all all rural areas of the state, including routes that only attract 2000/cars/day.
I'm not sure how I made out it to appear that Atlanta and state have done nothing and at the same time made things worse. .I stated that the rural areas of the state are suffering relative to the urban centers.More specifically in terms of jobs, education, and access to healthcare.
My last statement acknowledged that the state has done a poor job supporting the urban and rural areas proportionally.
I also never meant to imply that Savannah is a part of rural Georgia. Savannah is a part of south Georgia which is home to some of the poorest areas of Georgia. Savannah has seen great prosperity and hope that some of that can spread outward.
I'm not sure how I made out it to appear that Atlanta and state have done nothing and at the same time made things worse. .I stated that the rural areas of the state are suffering relative to the urban centers.More specifically in terms of jobs, education, and access to healthcare.
My last statement acknowledged that the state has done a poor job supporting the urban and rural areas proportionally.
I also never meant to imply that Savannah is a part of rural Georgia. Savannah is a part of south Georgia which is home to some of the poorest areas of Georgia. Savannah has seen great prosperity and hope that some of that can spread outward.
Savannah's prosperity has spread out quite a bit to Bulloch & Effingham counties. Both of these countries have seen quite a big increase in population & overall tax base.
The only thing which will save rural healthcare is 100% government funding of health care.
Look at North Carolina.. similar population to Georgia and similar GDP. Sure Charlotte is the biggest city but it does not overshadow the rest of the state like Atlanta does to Georgia. The wealth and economic development is more spread out in North Carolina.
Look at North Carolina.. similar population to Georgia and similar GDP. Sure Charlotte is the biggest city but it does not overshadow the rest of the state like Atlanta does to Georgia. The wealth and economic development is more spread out in North Carolina.
It's hard to compare the two states, as NC has three large metropolitan areas the Winston Salem/High Point/Greensboro triangle is about the same size as Charlotte & the research triangle is smaller but has a robust economy. Even if all three of these were combined Atlanta would be bigger.
It's a fight which has intensified over the last 4 years as Atlanta has led the economic comeback of the state & the rural areas have not recovered. The issue is Atlanta for the first part of the great recession was treated like an ATM by the rural communities, now the pols in Atlanta are saying we need a lot of money to fix our big issues & the rural pols realize the ATM is about to be cut off.
The infrastructure in NC also supports and encourages several large metros instead of just one. In Georgia, all roads lead to Atlanta. There have been many promises over the years to connect the second tier metro areas but all that has happened is just widened highways with multiple stoplights. Access to interstate/limited access highways, airports, and high speed internet is crucial to economic development in this age.
I can certainly understand the frustration from rural Georgia, but its not just rural Georgia, most of the second tier cities are also not seeing the big economic growth that supposedly the state is enjoying. We essentially have a system in Georgia where the not just the infrastructure and economic development is centered in Metro Atlanta, but also the political capital is centered there is well. There is a reason why Chicago and New York City are not the capitals of their respective states.
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