Yeah, and so should upstate NY.
Good luck upstate...NYC taxpayers fund like 80% of the state
...and Downstate interests are responsible for mandates on local government and other policies that drive up government costs up by just as much. Maybe a free and independent Upstate NY wouldn't share some of the highest per capita spending on education and Medicaid in the country?
There is no reason why we could not be an economically viable state on our own, and having a state government that better represents the interests of rural places and small cities would do a lot to improve the quality of life for people living here. NYC would most likely be better off, too, if it could govern itself.
The corrupt suburban machines originating out of Long Island and the Lower Hudson, on the other hand, would be left in rough shape. The Capital Region aside, most of Upstate New York could do better with a government that is closer and more accountable to its interests.
Exactly. Upstate NY and Downstate IL are the way they are BECAUSE of those cities. They weren't struggling regions that NYC and Chicago graciously annexed, they're the remainder of the states with those cities, and they adapted accordingly. There is zero reason to believe that the problems which respectively plague each region would persist at current levels with the removal of those cities. Would they also face additional problems and stand to lose from the removal of those cities? I certainly think so ... but people are taking away the advantages of having those cities in their states while keeping the problems of having those cities in their states, and that is stupid.
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