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  #81  
Old Posted Sep 30, 2022, 12:15 AM
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Originally Posted by pj3000 View Post
As I just stated above, "The biggest chunk of state tax revenue is obviously going to come from the areas of the state with the highest populations... they're putting more into the pot."

The have nearly half the population, so yeah, they're gonna contribute nearly half the state tax revenue. It's very simple math... where the most population is, is where the most tax money is going to come from.

But don't go and say that they are "propping up the rural areas" when those same (comparatively wealthy) counties are receiving huge portions of the pot in return. I mean... are you telling me that the four wealthiest counties in the state (Chester, Bucks, Montgomery, Delaware) will cease to be viable locations without 35-50% of their revenue coming from state and federal allocations on a roughly 2:1 basis?

That is a MUCH more accurate instance of being "propped up" by everyone else. And I don't disagree with this... the places that pay more should get more of the collective pot -- we live in a Commonwealth.

To act like YOU are being hurt by paying into Forest County's paltry $341k annual state allocation while your SE PA county is receiving between $250M and $4B annually is absolutely absurd. Get off your high horse.


As far as Turnpike tolls go, whoever uses it the most, pays for it the most. If you don't like it, take it up with the market economy.

Maybe people in PA who don't live anywhere near the Turnpike and don't use it shouldn't have to pay anything to "prop it up", right?
So to sum up your snarky and backhanded retort is we are just getting back our own money that we paid into the pot, but somehow we will frame it that the rest of the state is propping us up. Got it.

I-80 was supposed to be tolled when Harrisburg made the deal with the Turnpike Commission to fund Act 44. Yet Upstate fought that and won and they get to keep their free to drive on interstate and we get yearly toll hikes because the Turnpike still had to hold up their end of the deal. Again..we get to pay outrageous tolls (which have been hiked 15 straight years and are on schedule to be hiked for another 28 more) for the Turnpike and federal and state taxes that fund the upkeep of I-80. Lucky us. I mean the rest of the state suggested that the Surekill Expressway be tolled too. Why not. Let's just toll every highway in Southeastern PA while we are at it.


BTW...the cost of toll to go from Butler Valley to Irwin as it skirts past Pittsburgh is $4.00 with EZPass...for a 28 mile ride. That is less than I pay to go 26 miles on the same road run by the same Turnpike Commission. I guess Yinzers don't use the Turnpike to travel within the area so they get to pay less per mile than suburban Philadelphia. I mean that is what you are insinuating...that we use it more so we should pay more. Why even toll the western portion if it sits unused?

Now lets talk about which part of the state has hardly any representation in leadership positions in the legislature. The Republicans are in control, and almost every person in the leadership in the house or senate is from Northeast, Central or Western Pennsylvania. Literally only two people from the 5 SE counties one in each branch. Two. So don't act like our area is dictating anything politically in this state. it's almost the other way around. The Democrats in the Minority Leadership are more diverse in it's geographic makeup, but the Democrats have hardly any chance of taking back both the house and senate.

Last edited by PhillyRising; Sep 30, 2022 at 1:07 AM.
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  #82  
Old Posted Sep 30, 2022, 12:29 AM
CaliNative CaliNative is offline
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Vineland would be a pretty sweet Jersey capital.
Vineland is very far south, but NJ is small, so maybe OK. My choice is still in Newark or nearby.
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  #83  
Old Posted Sep 30, 2022, 12:33 AM
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Vineland is very far south, but NJ is small, so maybe OK. My choice is still in Newark or nearby.
Trenton is just due west of the geographical center of New Jersey which is in neighboring Hamilton Township. I'd say New Jersey got it right.
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  #84  
Old Posted Oct 5, 2022, 7:09 AM
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I think that I am fine with the location of Olympia as the state capital. It's a little odd, and off-center, but I am not going to argue about it.
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  #85  
Old Posted Oct 5, 2022, 10:40 AM
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Columbia is very central to the state of South Carolina, so it's about as good as you could ask for location-wise. I keep wanting to go down there to explore for a couple of days, and they have a really nice zoo that I enjoy.

As for Raleigh... Meh. Everything about Raleigh is meh. I spent the weekend there a couple of weeks ago because my nephew is in college there. Raleigh is pretty inconvenient to the entire western half of the state. Probably Charlotte would have been a more convenient location for the capital city if you wanted to take the entire state into account.
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  #86  
Old Posted Oct 5, 2022, 6:18 PM
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At various times in Arizona's pre-statehood, Phoenix, Prescott and Tucson served as the territorial capital. Prescott is most central, has the best climate, and has the best topography. But Phoenix has the most water. I'm no expert but while they do pump water in the Central Arizona Project form the Colorado up several thousand feet over the length of the canal, I doubt they would have been able to pump water up to Prescott at 5300'. And there's no major river system on the level of the Gila/Salt.

It's an interesting counterfactual what Arizona would have been like if Prescott was the capital. My guess is something more like New Mexico.

All told I guess I'd keep the capital in Phoenix, but it doesn't stop me from griping and wishing it was in Prescott on the hot days.
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  #87  
Old Posted Oct 5, 2022, 6:25 PM
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I guess.
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  #88  
Old Posted Oct 5, 2022, 8:49 PM
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An interesting if tiresome exercise is imagining the alternative universe where New Brunswick retained Saint John as its capital rather than placing it in Fredericton. SJ was easily the largest city and centre for commerce, trading, etc. at the time, and even to this day, but Fredericton was selected for its defensive position being away from the ocean. Imagining SJ today with the breadth of provincial government, UNB, and a plethora of other services, even despite the 1877 fire, would provide for a much larger, fuller, and dense city than we have today, whereas what is today Fredericton would be mostly shifted to Saint John and Moncton.

Rather than NB being split between three smaller cities it's likely it would have been split primarily between two larger cities.
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  #89  
Old Posted Oct 6, 2022, 4:37 PM
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A centrally located capital in a nice natural setting is best, so yes, I like the location of Austin.

Spreading bureaucratic institutions across the country is a terrible idea. The federal workers should be able to meet physically if needed and I don’t see a benefit of spreading them apart, internet existing or not. At the very least they don’t take a plane flight to meet with the President, or Congress, or with each other.
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  #90  
Old Posted Oct 9, 2022, 8:07 AM
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Tallahassee - Florida's Capital City

I like and don't mind Tallahassee as the location of the capital of Florida.

I'm quite familiar with some of Florida state government and recognize that the departments and services it provides to its citizens is often decentralized with headquarters in different regions of the state. It is not like people come to the state capital for driver license, marriage certificates, deeds, etc.

The principal purpose of the capital city is to serve as a location for representatives to convene and make laws and set policies for the entire state. Furthermore, that legislature sessions only last for a portion of the year.

Tallahassee was selected to be the capital because it is the halfway point between the biggest population centers at the time (Pensacola and St. Augustine) which in essence made it equally 'inconvenient' for those population centers. AND Tallahassee pretty much still does the same today. Even though today communication and travel is far less burdensome.

Also, Florida's shape make the geographical center not that advantageous if you JUST want the capital in the center of the state JUST BECAUSE.
For example, Georgia and Illinois are in the same land area size range as Florida. But the geographic center of those states to their extreme corners are not nearly as disparate as Florida. Miami is still 300 miles from the geographic center. And Pensacola over 300 miles.

Unlike many of the largest 10 population states with larger land area, Florida has sizeable population centers distributed throughout the state. The panhandle (the 10 counties west of Apalachicola River) has over 1 million people which does not include the Big Bend where Tallahassee is. And the broader state's area north of Ocala has a population in the range of 5 million.
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