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I just find it interesting that you like the south so much, yet live as far away from it as you can. It says a lot about the quality of life in the south.
Yes, lots. I have been to just about every part of this country and the PNW is the best part and the Deep South is one of the worst parts I have been in.
I could careless about keeping up with the Jones'. The wealthy pocket of the State is FFC and a select few towns around Hartford. Get outside of those regions it's bad. Plus, the COL of living is so high. If I was making $80,000 I could be ok, but we get charged like we all make $1m a year meanwhile we can barely keep our heads above water.
Plus the 54% increase energy (proposed) doesn't help.
NJ, NY and CT are the some of the highest taxed places in the entire country thanks to MASSIVE Gov't corruption at every level - which is another point, layers upon layers upon EVER MORE layers of Gov't. On Long Island, every township has it's own government, with everyone making 6 figures + a very generous pension. And they wonder why Nassau and Suffolk are in huge deficits and their credit ratings keep going down. They have to install speed and red light cameras everywhere and they're still not making payroll.
Cultural attitudes about crime and education help explain Oklahoma's bad quality of life. Oklahoma ranks around third or fourth for imprisonment rate. For women, it's no. 1. Oklahoma women getting involved with illegal drugs and the low value needed when shoplifting becomes a felony helps explain that. So Oklahoma's prison are overcrowded with rumors of riots soon to happen. Guidance by experts, paid for by taxpayers, on how to cut down the imprisonment rate have largely gone ignored. That Gov. Fallin has taken more money from private prison companies than any other elected politician helps explain why.
Oklahoma's poor attitude toward education was well displayed when it cut education by a bigger percentage than nearly any other state did during the last recession. For higher education, the state only funds 25% of it. The rest comes through private donations. Ever heard of Boone Pickens?
Assuming personal responsibility is greatly stressed in the culture of Oklahoma. Those who take it seriously will likely not find it too difficult to have a good life in Oklahoma. But there are too many Oklahomans who are lazy and unambitious and so get left behind in the dust without much help offered by state and local governments. So such people bring down the quality of life rankings in Oklahoma.
A culture of too many people who refuse to seriously take the importance of being personally responsible for their lives end up in bad health. You see people with big bellies sticking out where ever you go in Oklahoma. So 6% of Oklahomans have had heart attacks before. This is a higher rate than any other state. The national rate is 3.8%. Gov. Fallin's response has been to reject any more Medicaid.
Common core for education was also rejected. If it seems to have anything to do with Obama, it is toxic and must be rejected. When it comes to state government, Republicans try to stress scorched earth policies in their crusade toward making state government smaller. Only this year, breaking to heavy political pressure, did they agree to increase funding for education for the first time since 2008.
And so the above explains why Oklahoma is poor for quality of life. The only solution is to overthrow the Republicans and get a Democrat back in as governor. It would be nice not to have a governor who has accepted more money from prison companies than any other state politician. It is helpful that Gov. Fallin's Democrat opponent supports more Medicaid. But bear in mind going back to Democrats may only be of limited value. Because many decades of past Democrat rule in Oklahoma explains why Oklahoma finds itself the less than mediocre state it is today. The problem is Republicans in charge now are doing little to correct Democrat mistakes, and if anything want to double down on them and make things worse.
The picture of early day settlement of Oklahoma helps explain the nature of its culture. Early settlers were largely made up of people fleeing from liberal states such as Missouri. Missouri's loose alcohol laws greatly offended those on the Christian right back then.
It's possible Oklahoma may rank high in some economic growth factors. But it's been at a great cost. Up to $7 billion in tax incentives have been offered to try to attract industry but at a cost of less money available for core government services. So tax revenues were down this year by $150,000,000. So for starters, many state employees still haven't had raises in years.
Last edited by StillwaterTownie; 10-09-2014 at 12:21 PM..
When you get right down to it, what's truly wrong with The South to these people is that Southern states are Republican. Take away all the ill-informed misrepresentations about life in the South and what you're really left with is that they just don't like the South because the South isn't liberal. They can't come out and say that because they style themselves as open minded and tolerant, so they hide their bigotry behind crap about healthcare and jobs and other nonsense.
Northern plain states are very conservative (and republican too). Do you ever notice and wonder why those states aren't bashed?
Quote:
Originally Posted by pknopp
It would certainly make more sense. Just because the authors of this article thinks something is important doesn't mean those that live in the states think it's important.
Basically it's saying "If I was going to move somewhere this is what I would look for". So what? Is it really all that important what they would look for?
Well, of course not. If you don't value education or think the schools are liberal indoctrination centers then you aren't going to look for a state that values education. Conversely, if you do value education then you aren't going to look to the south. CO, TX, FL, and VA are going to be the only exceptions I can think of.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lucky4life
These are basically the "whitest" states. If one doesn't care about living around minorities and a little crime, then these states are actually the worst places to live simply because of the weather. If California or Florida had the same demographics of these states, there would be no debate. California used to be paradise 50 years ago.
MN is less white than KY and ends up near the top of every list while KY is always near the bottom.
If you think oppression needs to be written into a law, there is no point in bothering to discuss this with you.
You claimed it was systematic. Systematic means it is built into the system. Prove the systematic claim, or withdraw it.
You cannot make a blanket accusation against 10s of millions of people in a geographic area and not be prepared to back it up. You claim the oppression of minorities in the southern states is SYSTEMATIC. Prove that specious and as of now, pusillanimous claim.
I've been to both. My father lives in South Florida. They are similar; a tale of two worlds. Lots of wealth and lots of poverty. Like I said, the wealthy (especially in Florida) don't want to fund the schools for everyone else.
Throwing money at education does not make it better, unless you are talking about private schools. Adults without school aged children should not have to pay for schools. Parents should.
You claimed it was systematic. Systematic means it is built into the system. Prove the systematic claim, or withdraw it.
You cannot make a blanket accusation against 10s of millions of people in a geographic area and not be prepared to back it up. You claim the oppression of minorities in the southern states is SYSTEMATIC. Prove that specious and as of now, pusillanimous claim.
The South brought us Jim Crow and now Voter ID laws. Voter disenfranchisement is southern tradition. Why do you think the 24th Amendment exists?
Yes, lots. I have been to just about every part of this country and the PNW is the best part and the Deep South is one of the worst parts I have been in.
The PNW is the best part of you. The Pacific Northwest is not the best part of the
United States IMO. Sorry you had such a miserable southern life.
Throwing money at education does not make it better, unless you are talking about private schools. Adults without school aged children should not have to pay for schools. Parents should.
20yrsinBranson
No. What if the parents are poor?
All this guarentees is a social caste system based on wealth. That is social regression. Education becomes only available to the rich. History showed us that is the wrong course of action. They key to uplifting society is ensuring the entire population has the opportunity to receive an education.
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The PNW is the best part of you. The Pacific Northwest is not the best part of the