OT- Oregon Counties Vote to join Idaho

[Techster88]

https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/...249452010.html

I had no idea anything like this could happen. Is this for real? Your county can just change states?

[IronOre]

No. Has to go through the state legislature for both states and then be approved by Congress.

[laker]

https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/...249452010.html

I had no idea anything like this could happen. Is this for real? Your county can just change states?

If I remember my teaching days, both the state and Congress have to agree to it, so I find it highly unlikely.

Texas can divide itself into as many as five states. It almost split in the 1930s but too many people didn't want to lose the biggest state status. I think California might have the same right to split without the approval of Congress but I'm not as sure about that as I am about Texas.

I wouldn't want to have anything to do with Portlandia either.

[Techster88]

If I remember my teaching days, both the state and Congress have to agree to it, so I find it highly unlikely.

Texas can divide itself into as many as five states. It almost split in the 1930s but too many people didn't want to lose the biggest state status. I think California might have the same right to split without the approval of Congress but I'm not as sure about that as I am about Texas.

I wouldn't want to have anything to do with Portlandia either.

[tsull]

The arrogance of this group is amazing. I live in Idaho and I have not met one person who wants them to join the state, as a matter of fact most people I've talked to who are either conservative or liberal said they should take care of their own stuff in their own state. Portland, Salem, and Eugene, have propped up rural Oregon for decades with taxes, and the state of Idaho does not want to support these people with their own taxes, too. Most Idaho residents I know think the people who are doing this are leeches and don't know how to support themselves, I'm being serious.

[SW_Mustang]

I don't know who would have it worse - the people of Oregon for having to become part of Idaho, the people of Idaho for having to adopt part of Oregon, or Florida now having a true threat to their supremacy. This just sounds awful all around.

Anyway, this was in the article - there's a couple dozen of these proposed states, including one here in Minnesota, with Duluth as the capital. They are always fascinating to look at and think about.

[IronOre]

I don't know who would have it worse - the people of Oregon for having to become part of Idaho, the people of Idaho for having to adopt part of Oregon, or Florida now having a true threat to their supremacy. This just sounds awful all around.

Anyway, this was in the article - there's a couple dozen of these proposed states, including one here in Minnesota, with Duluth as the capital. They are always fascinating to look at and think about.

That map leaves out Eastern WA which would probably want to join, as well. But there have been people around here whining about it for years.

[tsull]

I just did a quick Google search: Seattle taxes are supporting much of the state of Washington. Most rural counties in Washington receive more tax benefits than what they're paying out ... as in all rural counties. Again, Idahoans don't want to pay for the rural Oregon leeches. If they disagree with PDX politics, that's their prerogative, but Idaho doesn't want to bail them out.

Also, some interesting stories out there on why rural counties need cities, mostly to keep them alive.

https://www.brookings.edu/research/w...-needs-cities/

[tsull]

[SW_Mustang]

That's the hilarity in all of this geographical gerrymandering - the cities would be better off without the financial burden, and the rural areas would be worse off without their support.

The fact of the matter is, rural areas just can't produce as much as even a midsize city can. Economies of scale and such. Living in the boonies is all but obsolete these days - unless one works in a set of specific industries (like mining or agricultural production), or is wealthy enough to take advantage of the cheaper COL while still being able to maintain QOL.

That being said, I don't dislike the country - it has it's positives. This type of stuff just fascinates me.

[IronOre]

That's the hilarity in all of this geographical gerrymandering - the cities would be better off without the financial burden, and the rural areas would be worse off without their support.

The fact of the matter is, rural areas just can't produce as much as even a midsize city can. Economies of scale and such. Living in the boonies is all but obsolete these days - unless one works in a set of specific industries (like mining or agricultural production), or is wealthy enough to take advantage of the cheaper COL while still being able to maintain QOL.

That being said, I don't dislike the country - it has it's positives. This type of stuff just fascinates me.

I live in one of the counties Tim mentioned and I know for a fact that the people that want to leave the state think they're sending more to Olympia than we get back. I know it's not true. And as someone that goes through Idaho a lot, I don't want to be part of that state.

[tsull]

I actually like the country and small towns and feel Boise/Nampa/Meridian is insane right now. Houses go on the market for 24 to 48 hours and they are eaten up without people even looking at them. Today on the commute a car almost hit me, practically getting used to it by now, it's like a NASCAR track, much different than when I moved down here. A lot of total jerks have moved here, too. It's just not the pleasant mid-sized city it used to be, but even the natives are boasting about all the growth. Have fun with it.

Bottom line on the boonies: They need metro areas to survive, period. Their schools receive needed state support as do their roads and social services. When I drive north most of the villages (not towns) I go through are hanging by a thread, no jobs, boarded up stores, nothing going on except fast food. Cities are keeping what's little left alive to these towns. Kids today are wise, they can get on the internet, YouTube or Google Earth, click on some locales they might want to live in and say, "That sure looks a lot better than the place I'm living in now." Then they can check housing/apartment prices, cost of living ... none of that was available when I was growing up (showing my age). I know very few kids who live in small nothing towns who want to stay in them.

Heck, my friend's kid couldn't wait to get out of Boise and went to SoCal for college with a huge academic scholarship. He wasn't an elitist, he just wanted to try something new.

[tsull]

Just to clarify my above post about the counties of Washington was cut and pasted from the Seattle Times. Don't want to plagarize, I want to give credit.

[Wildcat Khan]

It is a little surprising to me to see Spokane and Yakima counties on that list, but not Benton and Franklin Counties (Tri-Cities). It wouldn't surprise me though if we got more in the Tri-Cities in federal tax dollars though due to Hanford.

[SW_Mustang]

I live in one of the counties Tim mentioned and I know for a fact that the people that want to leave the state think they're sending more to Olympia than we get back. I know it's not true. And as someone that goes through Idaho a lot, I don't want to be part of that state.

Environmental concerns? Seems like an interesting place - it looks like they do tours, I might have to check that out the next time I make it out there. I couldn't imagine living in a place that gets condemned and razed in that manner. I get it with places like Picher, OK and Centralia, PA - but that would be quite the shocker.

This whole thing is absolutely insane - the idea that we should just be able to redraw the borders seemingly at will, just because we don't agree politically at any given point in time. A better solution for those wanting to be apart of Idaho... is to just move to Idaho. They tried that around here back in March, merging western Minnesota into South Dakota. I like our neighbors and wouldn't mind living there (though definitely not for political reasons), but that's just pure insanity.

Ultimately, I think it boils down to the ever-growing rural/urban divide. Moving borders won't fix that - the hypothetical new entrants to Idaho will find something to complain about in regards to Boise and just want to merge into Montana eventually, given enough time passes by. As a lifelong ruralite, the communities that I've visited that have thrived the most tend to be the ones willing to adapt with the world - and a lot fewer people that live there complain about this stuff.