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It is an oversimplification, because those people were getting more federal money. They voted for lower taxes in their local states and thus underfunded own inf

by watwut 2y ago

It is an oversimplification, because those people were getting more federal money. They voted for lower taxes in their local states and thus underfunded own infrastructure. Then they got angry about crumbling infrastructure they were not willing to pay for. Frankly, the economics is just an excuse here. Republicans never voted for better roads, never asked better roads. They don't want that. They will punish politicians trying to improve infrastructure. They have available free vaccines, but they don't want them. Instead, they actively go around villifying them trying to carve more legal ways to avoid vaccinations. They don't want to improve healthcare or make it cheaper, they actively rejected any such attempts for years. They don't want better school system, they want women to stay home and homeschool. They will actively work on trying to make schools worst. Making up rationalizing motivations when those people actions are consistently and clearly saying "I don't care" is loosing proposition. Yes, it makes them sound better, but no, you are not closer to understanding them.

spiderfarmer 2y ago
In other words, they lack empathy. And they’re unable to grasp that if someone benefits from something, that it doesn’t mean it automatically disadvantages them.
9dev 2y ago
For a long time I’ve tried to not give in to the thought that republicans, at large, are actually that short-sighted. It’s the literal guy sitting on a tree gleefully sawing off the branch they sit on. It felt like I was missing something, a change of perspective, but no. I’ve come to accept they really can’t look further than their own noses length, or at least won’t vote for more capable representatives.
photonthug 2y ago
> It is an oversimplification, because those people were getting more federal money. [..] They voted for lower taxes in their local states and thus underfunded own infrastructure. You cut what you can when you're strapped, and Kansas and Louisiana can't control their federal tax obligations, or federal contributions to things like the Big Dig or the post-collapse Baltimore bridge building projects. They just hope that when the tornadoes / hurricanes come and the levee breaks that the rest of the country will be keen to pay for something that benefits them. This doesn't always pan out though. As an example.. it doesn't get more federal than the army corps of engineers, but they argued for sovereign immunity. We'll see whether the LA wildfires get handled better or worse than climate catastrophes in the flyover states or the south east, but naturally California will probably do better and get more help than a politically unimportant place would. Without getting way into the weeds on details, perhaps we can agree that the optics of this stuff just aren't great. Without "rationalizing motivations" or "making people sound better".. basically you can choose to either double down on the other'ing or you can at least try to listen and empathize.

by watwut 2y ago

spiderfarmer 2y ago

In other words, they lack empathy. And they’re unable to grasp that if someone benefits from something, that it doesn’t mean it automatically disadvantages them.

9dev 2y ago

For a long time I’ve tried to not give in to the thought that republicans, at large, are actually that short-sighted. It’s the literal guy sitting on a tree gleefully sawing off the branch they sit on. It felt like I was missing something, a change of perspective, but no. I’ve come to accept they really can’t look further than their own noses length, or at least won’t vote for more capable representatives.

photonthug 2y ago

> It is an oversimplification, because those people were getting more federal money. [..] They voted for lower taxes in their local states and thus underfunded own infrastructure. You cut what you can when you're strapped, and Kansas and Louisiana can't control their federal tax obligations, or federal contributions to things like the Big Dig or the post-collapse Baltimore bridge building projects. They just hope that when the tornadoes / hurricanes come and the levee breaks that the rest of the country will be keen to pay for something that benefits them. This doesn't always pan out though. As an example.. it doesn't get more federal than the army corps of engineers, but they argued for sovereign immunity. We'll see whether the LA wildfires get handled better or worse than climate catastrophes in the flyover states or the south east, but naturally California will probably do better and get more help than a politically unimportant place would. Without getting way into the weeds on details, perhaps we can agree that the optics of this stuff just aren't great. Without "rationalizing motivations" or "making people sound better".. basically you can choose to either double down on the other'ing or you can at least try to listen and empathize.