About a white rural voter...

[modrepub]

61. All Good Points But

from a cost benefit analysis, if costs more resources per capital to maintain basic infrastructure in rural areas than suburban or urban areas. Rural tax receipts rarely cover the cost of the roads, schools, electric grid, cable et cetera. So government tax receipts and special requirements cover their costs.

Here's one example, my family owns a vacation camp in downeast Maine. I've lost track how many times the electric line to the camp has been damaged by trees. But every time we notify the power company they've sent a crew out to fix the problem at no cost to us. The electric bill for the place runs about $24/mo. There are about a dozen camps on that road probably with the same problem and paying about the same monthly bill. The power company has probably lost tens of thousands of dollars over the decades keeping those camps connected to the grid. For our privilege others must pay higher rates.

And another, my state has built about 100 miles of interstate grade roads basically to connect State College to the main interstate highway system. In essence, these roads were built to make it easier for 100,000 people to attend about a dozen football games a year. Meanwhile in my neck of the woods I sit on congested roads that are basically the same as when they were designed and built in the 1960s.

I could go on and on about the disparity between rural and suburban and urban resource allocation. It's mind numbing sometimes how well connected politicians can direct government resources to create infrastructure that is not supportable by local tax revenue. When that happens it becomes a long standing drain on resources from other areas that will now have to support things that don't help them and more importantly divert resources where they are truly needed.

There has to be some balance. Rural folks, in my experience, get more than a fair deal and they don't seem to know or care if they drain resources from other areas that have their own needs to address.