There is the welfare factor, both black and white.
There is the race factor, the Dems have captured the civil rights flag, and wave it wildly.
We need to work hard at getting the truth out on that one.
Then there is the tough on.
Turner's Thesis, Rugged Individualism.
City people are different. Period. (And off topic, but they spread like the clap)
We drill a well and maintain it.
Install a septic and maintain it.
Plant a garden, preserve the bounty.
Butcher, and preserve our food.
Most can build a structure. (Maybe not pretty, but solid)
Weld two pieces of metal, run a torch.
Fix a car, at least, rotate tires and change oil.
Including our women and kids.
City people, even the blue collar or engineers,
depend on government for all services and maintenance of same.
Depend on stores for food.
A hammer, screwdriver and pliers are a good city tool kit.
I resent that which I don't know, or can't do. City folk, even working ones,
are dependant, and know it. And...embrace it.
Bottom line,
Dependants vs self sufficient.
Dillon,
The reality's somewhat more complicated.
The most common tool kit in the city actually consists of a AAA card and a cell phone. It seems strange to country folk, but in the city, it makes sense.
The efficiency of cities is based upon an economic concept call "specialization and the division of labor". Most of us know this from Henry Ford and the assembly line, but it also applies when you have larger and larger collections of people each able to divide their efforts into more specialized areas and this increasing there relative productivity. This is also why, on average, the typical professional in cities makes more then a comparable professional in rural areas. There general rule is that for every order of magnitude for a metro area, productivity goes up 10%, and this compounds. So, the group of 1,000 is 33% more productive than the individual, and the city of 10,000,000 is twice as productive on a per person basis.
Take a look at your examples above. The person who can do all the things you mention is typically what we could call a "jack of all trades", but "a master of none". Additionally mastering all there requires a significant capital investment in tools and time to learn all there skills. It's amazing how much I spend on tools when taking on a new project. Additionally, there's the time involved. Now providing the person has the opportunity, often you are better off working an amount of overtime equal to how long it would take you to complete the project yourself, and just pay someone else to do the work for you.
Additionally, none of you country folks are near as independent as you think you are.
Your fuel, spare parts, tools, welders, welding rods, tires, steel, and gun powder, where's all that stuff made???
True, cities can't eat without farms, but without the cities, every farming operation in this country would quickly come to a halt as well.
