Blue States, Red States, Taxes, Freeloading, Arrogance, and the Beaten Wife Syndrome

This is part of a comment I made in response to section of Rogue Angel's post talking about "The red state blue state bullshit." Personally, I don't mean this as an offense to Rogue or anybody else, but I, as a blue stater, am sick of being put on the defensive about this. It's the beaten wife syndrome: I'm being punched and then told I deserve it. And you know what? I don't deserve it. And there are things happening in the blue states that the media refuses to discuss. So this post is meant to show you the viable reasons behind the hatred and anger against red states. [Part of Rogue's post is in italics, and I've cleaned up my grammar a bit from the original comment.]

You want to go on all day about how red state people are those awful Christians, welfare states (that one really surprises me considering our view on welfare), and how all these states want to do is have things their way and how that just pisses you off. Fine.

I'm not sure about everybody else, but my personal views on welfare are that people shouldn't be on it if they have no intentions of working. In fact, I think they should be kicked off it if that's the case, and if they go hungry and cold in the winter, fuck'em. Now, of course, things are never this simple, and somebody might not be able to get a good job, or have to work two while they have children to raise, etc... Those people, I believe, are not abusing the system.

On the whole, though, we need welfare no matter who abuses it because it's part of the social safety net that keeps recessions from going overboard and becoming full blown depressions. During the Great Depression, our country was screwed because we didn't have any laws setup to distribute wealth. Whole towns went without seeing a single greenback for months, and when that happens, the factories don't just slow down production, they shut down - stop humming. And that's what killed us during the Great Depression. Making sure that people have money to at least purchase the basic necessities makes sense because when a recession hits, it's those government greenbacks that keep the factories humming. The social safety net, simply put, keeps our economy out of depressions. Now, I'm not sure what everybody else thinks about welfare, but those are my thoughts.

And with that said, I'm also not afraid to admit that I think many of the red states are freeloading off the blue states. I may not be one to talk because RI is in the middle, and we get back $1.06 for every $1.00, but that's paltry compared to what some other states get. One of the worst welfare cases is Mississippi, getting back $1.84 in federal dollars. Now, on one hand, I certainly don't want these states to die off, and I think our federal tax dollars should be used to support our citizens no matter where they are. Not all states are going to be adept at getting industry to come to them, especially when so many jobs are just outright leaving America.

But what about people like me? Nobody takes into accout how high my taxes are. I have to live with my parents right now because the only places I can afford to live in [on my own] are a $400-500 a month room in the ghetto. I can't get a house because, on top of the average home price being over $200,000 in RI, the property taxes are $6000-8000 a year. And these figures I'm quoting are from the low end of the spectrum. (In fact, the property taxes are a huge reason why our rents are through the roof.) To be able to afford to live outside of my parents house, I have no choice but to move... And I'll probably be moving to a red state because in Massachusetts, who gets somewhere around $0.84 back in federal funds, living ain't any cheaper. And forget NYC. I could move to New Hampshire, but I don't really feel like living in the woods. [No offense, Kerry.]

So, unfortunately, I have to take a "what about me?" attitude here. What about me? How come I'm being stripped of my right to live independently in my home state? How come nobody gives a damn about the federal government helping my state out with our taxes? Why do I have to feel like my tax dollars are subsidizing other states?

I know a lot of blue against red resentment has come out over this recently, but from my perspective, I think it's justified since I'm one of the people who has to uproot my life and move since I can no longer afford to live in my home. It also doesn't help that red states have anatagonized us. On November 3rd, they had the audacity to use the media to call us a bunch of arrogant assholes who lack moral values. Well, you know what? I'm insulted. I'm sick of these ungrateful, freeloading pricks putting me on the defensive and telling how much of a dick I am because they think they're just so much more moral than me. I'm sick of them calling me the problem just because I fight back when they use their two senators of each lower population midwest state to force their morality down my throat. This is sooo beaten wife syndrome it's not even funny, and I'm sick of being punched and then being told I deserved it. I'm really surprised that everyone's so shocked that I choose to punch back after getting a black eye. Honestly, what other reaction did the red states expect? Happy thoughts and flowers?