The Red and The Blue

Regular reader likely knows that one of the major themes of these endeavors is that there are almost no Red states or Blue states, but rather old, male, white, uneducated, rural counties and just the opposite demo in cities. A recent episode showed that, by that metric, there are only three majority Red states. Even from the Right, there's been much lamenting over the Left Behind States. What none of the reporting, including what's about to be referenced, have pointed j'accuse at the very people in these Left Behind States: they always, and continue to, elect Damn Gummints which treat them like chattel. Little education. Little health care. And so on. To quote Pogo: "We have met the enemy and he is us." Those Left Behind, luxuriating in huntin' and fishin' and bar fightin' and proud of it, bitch about not having any future. Wake up, jerk. You did it to yourself. All the opioids that Purdue can churn out won't improve your situation.

Well, two stories today offer up more information.

First, 'The Texas Miracle' proves what the Red/Blue divide really is. It's quite long and detailed. Snicker if you will. I sure did.

Nearly all of the net growth in jobs and new businesses in Texas over the last decade, Labor Department data show, has been concentrated in four large metropolitan areas — Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Those areas accounted for more than four out of every five jobs created in the state since the recession ended.

The article goes on the tell us about a Left Behind town/city, Longview, and the efforts to become less Left Behind.

"We have everything you need in Longview", Mr. Mack said recently, after a luncheon sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce that focused on community health. "We have plentiful land. We have adequate water, which most places don't have. We have everything you need. All we need is for people to realize that we're here now."

Of course, what Mr. Mack and the rest of Longview's booster won't say: if you lose your job at one of their wonderful establishments, you're shit out of luck if your position goes away, since there's little to no similar companies doing what your former employer did. Capitalists like, beyond overt fascist Gummints, company towns. The advantage of Blue cities is just that workers have alternatives. Recent reporting on hiring collusion in Silicon Valley is worth reading up. Maybe not as free and open as the Valley boosters say, but really big cities do have far greater diversity within and across sectors.

Also in recent reporting, Alaska goes total reactionary. "We don't need no education!"

The University of Alaska System is bracing for a 41% cut in funding it receives from the state, after Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed a $130 million line item in the state's budget.

Wouldn't want the kids to have useful skills, now would we?