http://www.visualcapitalist.com/3-maps-visualize-americas-18-trillion-economy/ .
carl marx was not much of an economist, more like a "sorta economist" crossed with a hegelian. and, while george soros may understand exploiting the commodities markets associated with currency speculation, he isn't much of an economist, either. nor is he much of a political scientist or historian when it comes to understanding the hinterlands of america.
i am gonna tell you a little story about how portland, oregon became a major grain market in the world. and, oddly enough, it has to do with a bunch of guys growing grain close to the columbia river in the state of washington.
and, the expansion of railroads into the american west.
as the railroads came across washington working their way more or less westward to the pacific they did so routing the rails more or less through the spokane, washington area. and, being the railroads, they decided to put the screws to inland washington wheat farmers, gouging them on shipping costs and exerting control on how the grain was to be marketed once it reached the ocean ports of the puget sound.
this did not suit the wheat growers of the inland northwest. they went to portland, oregon and secured river boat transport down the columbia river from the plateaus overlooking the river to portland. and, once the grain shipped to portland they contracted the great grain brokers in london, england to sell their grain.
and, did likewise with the wool grown on sheep raised in the scablands of eastern oregon and washington. as i type this i sit about 28 miles from pendleton, oregon the home situs of the pendleton woolen mills, most likely familiar to you, if at all, as the source of pendleton shirts, blankets and other fine woolens. and, like the wheat farmers of the inland northwest, the sheep growers and wool dealers in this part of the world set up a major brokerage of wool in pendleton, oregon organized around river and barge shipment of the wool down the columbia river to portland, oregon and thence around the world.
i am going to show you what george soros doesn't understand about economic activity in this country, and i've just told you a tiny bit of the history of it in what your probably regard the rural & bucolic part of our land, .... , you know, where the deplorables live. the map comes from the website shown at the head of this article.
this map shows the location of $18 trillion dollars of economy in the u.s., divided in two halves, by area of the activity.--
not surprisingly, the dark blue areas show $9 trillion of activity in the major metropolitan areas of the united states. and, again not surprisingly, these areas are defined by their proximity to water, ... , they are the major port cities of the country, on the oceans, and on america's great rivers leading to the sea.
trade travels across the country on rails and in planes, and to other countries on the water.
but, as you regard the light blue areas, (not too dissimilar from the "red states" that carried donald trump to the whitehouse, btw), think about something for just a little bit. these light blue areas are not akin to the vast openness of space, but are an area of economic activity which on their own produce $9 trillion worth of our economy. $9 trillion. that is not chump change, and it is not $6.12 scraped together by a couple peanut farmers in georgia.
that economic activity stems from episodes like those recounted at the start of this article. the upper midwest is not only home to political populism, but is the home of struggle against grasping rail roads and shippers, which engendered efforts by farmers and agrarians to control the markets for their products and produce, and represents many a wrestling match and fight over the bounty of their crops and the profits derived from them. that area encompasses the "rust belt," the historical center of the steel industry treated so shabbily by leftist ideologues as an entire industry was allowed to go waste. this was also an area wrested by donald trump from the clutches of the american left, and it will be a battle ground as it is restored to economic vigor.
you'll notice that i have not written one word about an american peasantry.
that is because there is no such thing.
the cities have the colleges and universities that support silicon valley, and the vast business organizations of the american northeast. the light blue areas have their "moo u's," colleges and universities devoted to developing agricultural products and industry, and in educating farmers and businessmen who grow and market the food you eat, and take for granted. the "moo u's" of the u.s. also, for the most part, produce the engineers and scientists and geneticists who carry on a lot of the business and industry that sustain life in the u.s.
in my state of oregon we have the universities in eugene and portland, oregon who churn out the little lefties who aspire to the top of the food chain, because they are so sensitive and deserving. in corvallis, oregon we have "corn valley," the home of oregon state university which educates our engineers, and oceanographers and people in other fields. not twenty miles from my home is an oregon state university extension service installation, which develops the various grain and corn products grown in this state, among other things. other extension services work with the strains of grapes, cherries, apples and nuts grown in oregon.
about 60 miles from me, on the yakima river in washington state is the extension service station where walter clore, a scientist from washington state university in pullman, washington in the very middle of the great palouse, single-handedly brought european wine grapes into production in washington and oregon state. my little hometown of milton freewater, oregon is home to wines listed in the top 100 in the world in the wine spectator magazine, as is walla walla, washington some 10 miles north of where i sit.
the point i am making is this.
the economic activity in the light blue area of our country is not the result of two rustics sitting out on a river bank fishing for cat fish under a full moon, a sprig of grass dangling from each mouth as feet languidly stir the water beneath them. the economic activity in the light blue area of the country is carried on by industry and economic connections that go back into our history, and sustain our heritage now.
and, what george soros and the lefties don't understand, cannot comprehend, is that this history gives context and meaning to our politics, our values and the way we live. the vast majority of agricultural and heartland business is carried on by families. a daddy, a mommy and kids farming crops and raising livestock, and marrying and having children and yes, going to church.
we are conservative. we are agrarian. to be sure.
we are not rustics. and, we sure as hell don't view ourselves as "deplorable," and any idiot who chooses to talk down to us in this manner is just that, ... , a fool. and, for damned sure, is not gonna be elected president of the united states by us.
we are not the european countryside that simply swings to the rhythm of the great cities.
you don't sway us.
not with your blandishments by celebrities. not with your ridicule and patronizing arrogance. not with your god damned talking heads who do you bidding, the pathetic little lap dogs.
been there. seen that. dealt w/ the railroads, and took our products to market without your railroads. supported your lifestyles with abundant food, and the production of power. and, provided the manpower that sustained your adventurism in war.
this election, we cut the know it all politicians and the talking heads and servile lap dogs of the media off at the knees, and elected a president that we can respect. three generals in his cabinet, and i hope, more to come.
understand something, mr. soros and minions. we aren't going away. it is not business as usual. i thought george stephanopoulos was an asshole before the election, and i know that he is an asshole now. i don't care what the bastard says about anything, and i don't listen.
just color me light blue. or, red, if you prefer. understand that i have $9 trillion on my side as well.
and, that i feed you. and, give you electricity for the winter to stay warm, and electricity in the summer to keep you cool. and, i find and mine the coal that supports that industry. and, that i drill the oil and refine the gas that moves your cars.
and, you can cut me off from the money. and, you can suppress the news that you feed me, the bullshit that you think i consume. and, understand this. i can cut you off from the food, and the water, and the power that sustains you.
any damned time i want.
john jay @ 12.08.2016
p.s. it has nothing to do w/ anything in the post, but, i thought this map interesting as well.
american cities are powerful engines of prosperity.
they are also like little islands in a vast sea. isolated. their strength separated by vast distances. and, easily subjected to siege.-- cut the highways, cut the transmission towers, cut them off from their potable waters. los angeles and san francisco, for instance, live on a narrow ribbon of water in a large canal that transports the water they stole from the colorado plateau. it is indefensible. without it, those cities, and the economy of southern california dies.
think about that. i do.
Very well said.
Posted by: Mark Matis | December 09, 2016 at 07:52 AM
We have made an almost annual trek from Texas to Oregon to visit family. As we drive though the agricultural areas of Texas, Colorado, Idaho and Eastern Oregon I am continually struck by how hard people in the heartland work, doing real things. They lift and carry heavy products and transport them to market. The small towns have grain elevators and stockyards and high school football fields. It is amazing and impressive to see. And it is critically important to the success of our country.
Disbursement has it's own tactical advantage. Pearl Harbor was a lesson in the folly of concentrating assets. It is comforting to know that there are so many hard working, smart, common sense oriented people out there. You wouldn't know it by watching TV the last few years.
Thanks for the heartening post.
Posted by: ScottJ | December 09, 2016 at 09:02 AM
mark:
thank you for the read, and thank you for the comment.
i enjoyed writing the post. you might check out the follow up. not as good as this one, but, passable.
john
Posted by: john jay | December 09, 2016 at 11:28 AM
scott:
grown and raised in milton freewater, and think of it as god's country. it is truly beautiful in the spring and fall, ... , one season is green and mild, the other hot and brown, but each has its own allure.
the worst thing in the world that can happen to a little boy happened to me. the teachers said, oh, he's such a bright little boy, he should go to school.
so, i did. and, here i am now, right back where i started. laughing.
but, the uptick of this is that i have lived around very bright people all my life. smart. accomplished. elite & privileged.
and, i've got news for you, and for them (which they will never accept.) and that is, they are not as smart as they think they are, and they are not smarter than the rest of the herd, at least not by any significant orders of magnitude. hey, you cannot be a genius if the rest of the people cannot recognize it, ... , you are merely weird.
the "rich" and "elite" are not that way because they deserve it. they sort of suffer the same delusions that kings who believed in the divine right of kings did. they are simply that way because of the dictates of the economies of scale, and the fact that money concentrates as it moves up the social pyramid.
the elites & privileged suffered a little set back this last election.
it is up to the rest of us to keep them humble, and to make sure that we are led by people who at least respect and like us, if not coming from us directly.
i like our country.
it is magnificent to travel through and over. and, i am very glad that you feel the same way.
when i was young i wanted "out" of milton freewater. now that i am old, i am quite content to be back, and the place fits like an old pair of gloves.
give a look at the post on "heather's" following, if you will. i hope you'll like it. it is in the same vein as this one. e.g., two america's, one that gets up at 4.00 a.m., and one that doesn't. i don't pretend to that virtue. i drag into heather's at about 8.30 a.m., and not dependably. laughing.
john jay
Posted by: john jay | December 09, 2016 at 11:39 AM