Trump has some kind of reality-manipulating powers. Not in a science fiction sense, but more sheer force of will combined with luck, but a lot of the luck coming from an ability to see systems in the world and make them work in your favor. This particular instance is probably just luck, but there are some people in the world for whom things just seem to go right for, and they seem to get what they want all the time. Usually it comes from really deep knowledge of a specific area and good intuition, though intuition itself is based on correctly acting on things you might not really understand, and some people are clearly better at it. Trump is one of these people but on an unusually grand scale. He also has no problem going after what he wants even when everyone else says it's stupid or you can't do that. That certainly helps.
I don't know if he is really a genius transdimensional polo master but I don't think he is an idiot, and I think he understands trends and things in society that other people don't. It struck me when I found out he'd registered the MAGA slogan several years before running for office. He'd been talking about running for office for years and never really did it. He's in the right place at the right time, but he also knew it was the right place and time. He has the right combination of qualities to make these implausible things keep happening.
That was Steve Jobs in spades.
Because my state's (Pennsylvania) economic health depends on other states being healthy too.
If other states are doing poorly, there will be less work, less use of electricity, and thus, less demand for electrical power generation, which means, less demand for bituminous coal, our biggest export. (And before you lump me in with backwards hicktopia Kentucky, know this, our number TWO export is medicines and vaccines.......)
If other states' heavy industry is not doing well, there won't be a market for new railroad locomotives, the GE engine works in Erie is a major employer and can't survive just selling to in-state rail lines.
If other states aren't doing well, people won't have the money to invest in private aviation, Cessna and Piper were founded here, we still do a sizable business in light aircraft engines and component parts for them.
Other major exports from here are lead-acid batteries, forklifts and powered machinery, work-truck carbodies, and agricultural equipment, all things that require a healthy industrial base on a national level to have a market to sell to.
THAT'S why I care about how someone 3 time zones away is doing, if they aren't doing well, they can't buy the stuff my neighbors make, and then my neighbors dont' have money to spend at MY business...... it's symbiotic, because there's stuff that "other guy" has that I need in return because I can't get it locally, like pineapple for example? I love pineapple, but good luck growing those in an Appalachian cornfield.
Claiming empathy should stop at state borders for political reasons is a short-sighted and stupid thing to believe when we all need to work together to get max benefit from a capitalist-democratic system. And why the parochial "Only blue coasts matter" democrats are so darn toxic and repulsive, they'd rather starve than have food grown by the "wrong" people or see "bigots" get a paycheck.
Last I checked an American flag, your star is as big as mine.... that's not a put down, that should be inspiring. You say why should I care? Why should I not? They're Americans, same as me, and want the same basic things I do, economic and social stability, a shot at personal happiness when not on the job, and fair and equitable treatment by impartial courts.
I feel that people closest to a problem are the ones best qualified to make decisions on it.
And I feel it's perfectly fine for neighboring states to take different approaches on the same problem, and let the most effective one win out.
I think part of the reason is that I'm from Maryland. Compared to a lot of states, Maryland gives counties a lot of home rule. Counties are pretty independent from each other and can pass all sorts of goofy laws without bothering each other.
Which is helpful because the state is very diverse (and not just in the sjw way). Western Maryland is Appalachia. The DC area counties are what political types imagine when they think of Maryland, hyper-blue, sjw. (Although they're nice in their own way.) The eastern shore is chicken farms, fishermen and beaches. (Very nice beaches, Ocean City, MD is far superior to Rehoboth.) And there's lots of wooded areas and farmland in the center.
I grew up in a rural part of central Maryland but I've lived all over the state. It left a big impression on me that what works in Frederick does not work in Baltimore. And Bethesda will require a completely different solution from either of them.
And that's just across one state. I couldn't imagine dictating what people in another part of the US do.
The separation in politics helps stave off resentment. I'll go up to rural PA, and I'll see a big sign that says "this is raven's country", and my PA friends tell me that it's because central PA people hate the shit out of Philly and Pittsburgh because they drag their politics all over the place.
There's a time and a place for large scale decisions, of course. I'm not arguing there isn't. And when they are necessary (like important constitutional issues, or national defense, or maybe vague, national economic goals), the federal government should have the ability to drop the fucking hammer.
But I lean more towards more local politics.
Heh, also, ironically I find that people are the same all over the state though. Urban rednecks in the Baltimore area can transplant themselves to redneck areas all over the state and blend in without much difficulty, and vice versa.
However, beginning in the 80's, a person's primary way of identifying themselves started to become more and more localized or tribal in nature. The most prominent divide is visibly political, but he came up with this
neat little quiz that highlighted how vastly different our experiences are as more and more generations experience consistent growth and wealth that never exposes them to how the other side lives.
Heh, the question about mass market beer amused me. Also the question about long distance bus ride.
I make extensive use of greyhound and amtrak (went cross country once, in coach, 4 days each way). Bolt bus is neat, but not widely available.
I've even heard co-workers talk about how they got CC permits and bought guns because they were afraid of roving bands of rural Trump supporters going after all the gays. Shit, you're more likely to get stabbed in the gut or shot by one of their precious PoCs in the trendy downtown areas they love to live and work in than feel lightly accosted by a good ole' boy who just gives you the raised eyebrow because he's wondering how to process all the lumbersexuals you see in a big city. And this wasn't even in a huge city, these people could drive 20 minutes in almost any direction and suddenly be in small-town America so it wasn't like they had any excuse, they deliberately shield themselves from understanding.
http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-reasons-trumps-rise-that-no-one-talks-about/
