In a recent post, Oh the rewards of place-baiting: Rosen's return to Fairmont makes for a pretty swell data point, Bluestem joined a conversation prompted by commentary by Forum News Services columnist Mike McFeely, You know the metro area subsidizes rural Minnesota, right?
In Thursday's Post Bulletin, letter writer Greg Rendahl of Ostrander (Fillmore County) observed in Urban areas subsidize rural areas:
Mike McFeely's recent column pointing out how Minnesota's metro area subsidizes rural areas through state government is likely an eye opener for some Minnesotans, but there's more to the story. The federal government spends about equally between urban and rural, but always takes in more taxes from urban areas. On top of that, last year farmers received an astounding 44% of their net farm income from federal ag welfare programs when including the most important federally subsidized crop insurance program. Bottom line is that urban, mostly Democratic areas, subsidize rural, mostly Republican areas. The old myth of rural folks standing on their own two feet has long been wobbly. Our state's stingy Republicans seem unwilling to give Minneapolis some needed extra help this year. This rural Minnesotan sees that as very unfair. I'd also like to thank city folks for their endless and kind generosity.
Well, we'll be a blue-nosed gopher.
Photo: The Ostrander watertower. Ostrander enjoyed a population of 254 people in the 2010 Census. If that ain't country, okay then.
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