Illinois’s Resources

In comments there were some questions raised about Illinois’s resources. Unknown to most people Illinois does produce oil and refines oil. It also mines coal. It still produces iron and steel. Unlike many states it could be self-sustaining. That would be a very different Illinois than the present one.

The states are all interdependent. As I documented in comments, some states draw directly on the rest more than others. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the states that are heavily subsidized directly by the rest tend to be gaining population while those that aren’t subsidized directly as much tend to be losing population.

My own view is that states like California, Florida, and Texas need to be spending a lot more on disaster preparedness than they are at present. I mind subsidizing very poor states like, say, Mississippi less than I do subsidizing rich states like California. Heading off a possible retort California is both the richest and the poorest state in the Union. It has more billionaires than any other state but it also has more poor people than any other state.

BTW there are states both Red and Blue, e.g. West Virginia and Vermont, that have no billionaires.

3 comments… add one
  • TastyBits Link

    New Orleans has a robust film industry, but it is not Hollywood. Moreso, it would not exist without Hollywood. Nobody is making deals over dinner at Antoine’s or Galatoire’s.

    California pumps and refines oil, but because they refuse to increase production of both, California relies on other states. Power production is similar.

    I am too lazy to do the research, but I am betting that military enlistment is not evenly distributed. Maybe we need a quota system. Also, I am paying for a lot of military that I do not need. Neither the Russians nor the terrorists are going to be invading my neighborhood anytime soon.

    What about terrorism insurance? Again, my tax dollars provide re-insurance, but my neighborhood is low on the terrorist’s list. Whether I like it or not, the people who work in tall buildings benefit me.

    I have a long list of shit my tax dollars go towards that I have no interest in supporting. The Fed, COVID shutdowns, invasions, Ukraine support, EVs, and so on, and so on ….

    In any case, wealthy people are going to live where they damn well feel like it, and to provide the services they need and want, people are going to live near them. By making it more expensive for those people, you will just have poorer people living in shitty conditions.

    Again, I am too lazy to look up the numbers, but I am betting that very little of the FEMA budget is for flood insurance. I suspect that most money spent on infrastructure rebuilding is waste, fraud, and abuse. “Never let a good crisis go to waste.”

    I do not have a problem with a state spending more for disaster protection, but one Army makes more sense than fifty independent National Guards.

    You might want to ask why people are moving to the shitty states. There is a reason why a person moves from a Chicago suburb to a trailer park in Mississippi, and I doubt it is for the weather.

  • Now you’re making me nostalgic. It’s been 60 years since I’ve been to Galatoire’s.

  • bob sykes Link

    I see you are an adherent of Strunk and White: Illinois’s.

Leave a Comment