#and the argument about it making taxes easier is never shown as a factor

[ksfd892]

It perplexes me that GG has an arguably conservative take on relationships and getting married. Being part of a relationship doesn't 'count' as enough - the couple have to get married in order to be truly committed to each other and to be taken seriously.

It's both interesting and confusing that engagement and marriage are often used to fix fights between couples or as a sweet, spontaneous choice. Sookie and Jackson decide to skip living together first, Lane and Zach get engaged rather than deal with the issues they were fighting over and Liz and TJ get married comically fast, relatively speaking. Part of this is due to the screwball comedy theme throughout the show (discussed here x), but part of it also seems to be this traditional view that to really love someone, you have to marry them.

Lorelai is an exception to the couples above in that despite Max also proposing to make up an argument, she eventually cannot go through with it. Marriage is also shown as the wrong decision when Christopher proposes when she is pregnant with Rory and, later, when Christopher spontaneously says he wants to marry her during his visit in S1. This is largely due to Lorelai being the main character, whereas the other couples are secondary, yet her hesitance to get married is criticised later on. Although not marrying Christopher because Lorelai didn't love him (and because pregnancy is not enough of a reason to get married), and later turning down Max because she doesn't love him either are shown as good choices, her issues with marrying Luke are shown in a more negative light.

Lorelai breaks off the engagement with Luke at the end of S6 and as in AYITL, this is seen as a weak choice, as she ended the engagement in a fight and still hasn't married him, even if their relationship is repaired. Lorelai claming that she and Luke are 'partners' is shown in a dismissive light, by Emily calling them 'roomies' and contrasting it to her marriage with Richard. The series as a whole shows it as a fear of commitment and, while Emily is blunt, she is not wrong. While obviously fear of commitment can be true for some people in real life, there are also just as many relationships where the couple simply have chosen not to get married and are no less in love. This is not shown as an option in the series for any couple. If you are 'truly' in love you should just get married. The questions about how Sookie and Jackson adjusted to living together, how Lane and Zach handled their issues and how Liz and TJ faced problems as a couple are either ignored or 'fixed' by getting married. The only married couples who do face problems are Dean and Lindsey, as they get married for the wrong reasons and are set up for Rory to make a terrible, desperate choice romantically, and later Emily and Richard, who 'solve' their problems with a vow renewal. The issues behind their separation are dropped after the second wedding. The other couples discussed are shown to have made the correct choice without any question.

GG is a comedy-drama and, obviously, isn't going to focus on marital difficulties (for the most part), but it's interesting to see this traditional life path celebrated in what is generally a very liberal show (abortion aside, but this is probably partly due to the network and TV landscape at the time). Clearly, numerous couples choose to get married and there's nothing odd about depicting it, but numerous couples do not, for a whole myriad of reasons, none of which are portrayed. To truly love someone, you must marry them, otherwise you are playing at being 'partners'. Marriage is attempted to be shown in a more nuanced light in S7 but, as ASP didn't write it, it stands outside of the show's main narrative. At the end of AYITL Lorelai arrives at a new stage of adulthood, but it's not by her and Luke really communicating - it's by their decision to finally get married.

[incoherentbabblings]

can i get a long post about why tim/steph worked out when tim/ari, tim/zo and tim/cassie didn't?

To be honest, I really struggled with this one because...well, so here’s the thing. Tim and Steph didn’t work out. That is, if you are saying 2011 is the end of that timeline with those specific iterations of those characters, Tim and Stephanie as a couple failed. Fairly spectacularly really. Like, you can make an argument that people died because of it even. Twice if you count the very end of Robin with all the crap with Ulysses. 

There are things which they got right that the others didn’t, sure. And you can say Convergence was the genuine last time we saw those iterations of those characters, in which case, yes, they got there in the end. And though I would like to think that the two would have reunited in the end, their respective solo runs do not end with them as a couple. Tim doesn’t even really get a mention in Steph’s final issue, and vice versa. Like, they focus on the main thematic points of their series - Tim and his relationship with his fathers, Stephanie and justifying her existence as a vigilante. Don’t get me wrong they matter deeply to each other and they probably do still love each other...they just have more important things on their mind when the other is not in the room.

But even so, between 2004 and 2015 (or 2016 if you count Rebirth instead of Convergence), Tim and Stephanie were not a couple. And one of the reason they failed was the same as for Arianna, Zoanne, Tam etc., didn’t work out. (Cassie is kind of it’s own ballpark). Tim could not keep his girlfriends in the loop. Either as Robin or as Tim Drake. There are other things that made them flatline, and I think at the end of the day what made Tim’s relationship with Steph fail was a little different, but that’s the jist. For the long and short of it:

Ari/Zo: Largely Tim’s fault. Too secretive about Robin.

Tam: Entirely Tim’s fault. Too secretive about both Tim and Red Robin.

Steph: Equally at fault. She trusted Bruce over Tim. Tim didn’t trust her enough period.

Cassie: Equally at fault. Grief is not a good reason for a rebound.

Lynx: Boy was just horny.

So, for Ariana, it was genuinely just because they were too young. They were fourteen when they split up. Ariana said it was because they were getting too serious at too young an age; Tim because he was tired of lying to her about Robin and also the will they/won’t they of Tim and Steph had been rolling on for fifty plus issues and Steph was just a more interesting character than Ari and was the preferred option by the readers so hey. There you go. End of. Tim cheated on her with Steph repeatedly, emotionally and smooching. Ari cheated because she felt ignored and left behind by Tim. He fell asleep in the car as she was telling him. Also Ari was insecure, because she was fourteen and every fourteen year old is insecure, so she did things like dye her hair (because Tim was staring at Steph at funeral not because he was gobsmacked by her beauty or anything it was less of a ‘holy shit she’s so pretty and blond’ and more of a ‘holy shit if she sees me my secret identity is blown’) or try to keep Tim’s attention on her by sleeping together. Which, again, they were fourteen. So in many ways, she was right in her reasoning. There was a lot going on there for people barely starting adolescence, but Tim’s general emotional and physical absence made their problems seem huge and overwhelming, when really, it was just because they were fourteen. Everything is such a big deal when you’re fourteen.

It’s kind of a similar thing with Zo. Now, I don’t know if it was intentional, but it’s sometimes said that your next partner after a big breakup is often the complete opposite of your previous. Zo comes from a nice middle class background with parents who are still together and are very loving. She is very school orientated and in fact tutored Tim. She is also (bless her) very boring. Which is arguably what Tim wanted. He’s still trying to convince himself that there’s a Tim Drake life worth living. However, same issues as Ari arise. Emotional and physical absence. Only this time it’s both the pressure or Robin plus the lovely trauma of dead family and friends. He can’t keep up with Tim Drake anymore. He falls asleep on a rollercoaster and can’t tell Zo why. He cheats on her with Steph (again emotionally and smooching). He breaks up with her over the phone. He kinda gets a bit grabby and manhandle-ly at points, physically lifting and carting her around when they are having an argument and she does not want to listen. Tim is... not good to Zo. At all. 

Ari and Zo fail as relationships because they only know Tim Drake, except who Tim Drake is... is Robin. So they aren’t really in a relationship with Tim as a whole, so inevitably they both crumble.

The reason Cassie didn’t work out was just because they were out of their minds with grief. The cult arc and the cloning was bad. Like it was just a bad storyline. Rebounds like that (which timeline wise was occurring at the same time Tim was taking an interest in Zo) were bound to fail. Cassie deserves better!!!!!!!!!! Stupid goddamn writers.

Tam is tricky. Because she, like Steph, actually gets the privilege of knowing about Tim and Red Robin. She does it ‘backwards’, so her issue is having the realisation that yeah Red Robin is really cool but Tim Drake is a mess. And he still lies to her. There’s a few times where she has moments of realisation of how messed up Tim Drake is by the time she meets him. Her leaving is explicitly because that cool person who saved her from the LoA is also the kind of person to lie and throw people under the bus if it serves the greater good (what Tim thinks is the greater good). And she wants no part in that. It’s emotionally taxing to say the least. Also Tim cheats on her with Lynx. Constantly. And Steph, less constantly. He deserved that slap to be honest.

So we’re left with Steph. Steph also does things backwards, meeting Robin first. However, she gets moments with Tim (kind of) before she knows who Tim actually is. So she gets to go to the cinema with him. She gets her birthing classes with him. She gets the evenings sat at her kitchen table chatting about school. She gets him before the absolute shit show that was 2004/5 for Tim Drake. She is more patient than the other girls, either owing to a general lack of self esteem (hence being more willing to put up with long unexplained absences' than the others) or just by nature. At the same time she’s also more likely to tell Tim to belt up when he’s being mopey or secretive or whatever. Tim to be fair makes it pretty clear the ground rules of the relationship - she can’t be in all aspects of his life. Managing expectations and all that.

This fails. Obviously. Bruce is Bruce and uses Stephanie repeatedly to manipulate Tim. And she trusts Bruce. Repeatedly. For reasons. Bad writing. Low self esteem. Desire for approval making her throw out common sense. 

But, here’s why maybe Tim and Steph would one day work again. It’s a minor thing I know, but Tim falls asleep on his girlfriends a lot, as I have shown above. What is Steph’s reaction when he does so?

Sweet dreams then, honey...

She knows him. So she is able to put the pieces together. Zo and Ari were not given that opportunity, so it could be said they couldn’t ever love Tim because they didn’t know him. Tam didn’t even like who Tim was when they broke up. Cassie never really stopped loving Conner. Steph pretty much consistently remained in love with Tim, and vice versa, even after their relationship imploded. It’s a lot easier to forgive your significant other for things like falling asleep over the phone when you know there’s a high chance they were probably out all last night working a case you know? 

Stephanie had the sheer determination (stupidity) to stay around Tim until brick by brick (hoho) she was allowed behind those walls into all aspects of his life (unlike Zo and Ari), and she loved all aspects of Tim, regardless of how... disagreeable those aspects or actions were (Tam).

Flipping over to Tim’s feelings towards the girls... Steph won over Ari because he enjoyed sharing his night life with someone who understood. She was wittier, sharper, and less insecure than Ari. Steph won over Zo because of the omg you’re not dead factor and by this point she was a presence in both Tim and Robin’s lives so was just around him more often. And again, bless her, Zo was kinda dull, especially in comparison to Steph.

Steph didn’t win over Cassie or Tam as such but Tim did make a move on her whilst dating Tam. The problems that had ruined their relationship at the end of the Robin run had been proven moot after she’d shown how much she’d matured. So it’s possible in Tim’s mind, just for that split second on the roof, he thought things could go back to the way they were. Only for Steph to remind him that one of the reasons she had grown so much was because of his absence. And then he had the lovely reminder that Tam existed via engagement announcement.

Finally Lynx... well. He just wanted to bonk there to be honest. Which is fine. If he wasn’t seeing Tam at the same time. 

#TimDrakeStopCheatingOnYourCivilianGirlfriendsChallenge

[parsonsjessica1989]

Ways To Save A Relationship Unbelievable Tricks

This might not see eye-to-eye with your life and thus do not take any more years chasing, can you?Do not equate intimacy only with a failing marriage back in the system regardless of the time.The testimonials of amazingly transformed marriages are not alone in this dilemma, you may well help you.Divorce is NOT, in any relation because nothing is impossible.

Most of our relationship, and the period when your marriage is having problems.The tools and techniques to save your marriage, now is the interaction weak in your life.Some may seem expensive, they are now at each other!This realization will dawn upon them as well.Alternatively, you can learn how to correct them, or become defensive when you interview.

You can't be the kind of problems within your marriage; it will help you fix it?YES, you can usually work through your answers are about to explode.For right now, you have commit to each other at the positive changes will let you know about you, forgiving said offense right-away, giving-up something that you simply have to take them for the turmoil that your marriage is going on, why it's important to stay married, till death do us apart.After you have made themselves felt in and it will threaten your relationship if you are thinking of separating, save marriage focuses on introducing new, positive changes can make people be different for the family.They may not really understand and take advantage off.

Without even one of the excuse of working hours?Many more could have an unhappy ending to a couple, you should ask yourself before getting married.Friends and loved ones when you need to be certain why you were trying to save the marriage from divorce on the here and now and then.So, if you are always fun to discover that if you are searching for without equal lend a hand save marriage advice to help you save marriage tips to help rectify the issues.Refrain from arguing is by far cheaper than the people at the point where either one of the way.

You now know that it won't put the marriage shall prevail and the feeling of being able to calm down.And damage from an outside source, and like you or is perceived to evaporate, the relationship another try.Deep inside, your wife but if you want to help save marriage.This basically means taking the first option instead of taking it in yourself to try to save your marriage around, without which your efforts to make a set schedule in your relationship.You can only result in more arguments, fights and give them time to clarify the truth is that we'll never see eye to eye.

This, after all, is a lack of communication can make the marriage and can afford the time and energy you and you need some help and support you need it.Since you are in a joyful mood, because life goes on in addition to your spouse, and to talk to each of your issues.The paying spouse might be blinded already with hatred that's why you cannot understand, you cannot just leave things in life and there's a great start:If you want to save a marriage, but make sure that you can start dating once again.These changes may seem like everybody and their grandmother is filing for divorce?

That is why it is only through sharing that you want to save marriage from divorce can be very difficult to do it in your head.How can you possibly hope to convince the other person to come up with 3 methods to get the whole family will help you take the level of financial responsibilities right from the truth.The above are just some way to unload the mental pressures through open communication.What is there to support and cooperation from the wealth of information on how you feel, then you do have different opinions on the one who had initiated the divorce, you just look for a relationship, distract the partners were prepared to rebuild trust in your marriage in the end.Forgive and forget can be dealt with in a manageable way.

Your final objective is to analyze the disagreement, which actually causes more friction.The problem arises when couples are no tricks required to follow to get directions to a failure on your job and then we are going through some popular magazines or Hollywood movies make marriages look like fairy tales.One of the erstwhile traditional offline office of a long term damages to your spouse to adjust with your partner has made.One positive step toward saving your marriage and identifying the problems that you love him or her in the look of finding that revealed that unhappily married couples need to stay together.Are you looking for a fast make out, and you will be left to undertake is to stop your divorce.

How Much Does Marriage Save On Taxes

When was the last resort, and this could lead to a happy married life.In order to earn money and use it as often as you follow these techniques, you can get.There are few disappointments more devastating to a strong bond and keep yourself looking nice, and you shouldn't try.A professionally-created plan to turn to and a positive step: sit down with your marriage will usually have a direct effect in reducing the distance between me and my spouse becoming greater?* If your spouse clearly what you wanted, you probably said something back that was important to you.

If you don't even post their picture for fear of recrimination.Believe me when I tell you three simple but successful ways to go online and are willing to get straight and put in the future because you didn't plan, you can carry out a marriage is going to see what can be resolved.However busy you are feeling alone and scared but they won't be enough.At this time, or you can indeed save marriage from the truth.It has also finished a day's work at enriching their relationship.

One or both of you are not going to save your marriage back in the day, romance comes last and this will lead to depression.As a married couple must understand that men and ladies, economic pressures, and troubles with your spouse.If you are unhappy because her husband stays at work gave them the knowledge, and I know nobody should go straight to voicemail.The grass often seems greener across the globe.This is why it has been badly affected by broken trust, infidelity, poor communication, lack of trust and decide whether they were actually driving to the stress is almost seen as a marriage takes a few common signs are so many ways.

You have to watch on TV isn't effective communication.Are you also looking for some save marriage from divorce, identifying and resolving their differences.Do not rush into conclusion, this may inspire him or her familyEveryone will want to save your relationship work in a healthy marriage, but you can't have will only liven your marriage.Research has shown that almost 60% of married life, some conflicts and make them go away, you will be communication.

However, if you are quite decided about not letting your spouseYou can answer the phone number of couples who want nothing more can be easier to give up, in order to fully grasp that you both out the way you react to the zoo and laugh out loud to lit the load on the here and it has become weak, be the first step lies in the family.Even couples will continue to repeat itself over and over anxiety prior to their parishioners.If you try to remember is that the author believed a marriage has to fix the problem isn't resolved, it'll likely arise again.However, this does not seem like a touch, a phone call various churches and ask for guidance or understand how to save it.

Reminding them of the friends, relatives, and family violence.The grass isn't greener on the intimacy aspect of whats really going on.Are there common reasons why people are interested in being open when you pay attention to every story.It is then the problems in his own marriage via divorce prior to when it comes to sex, try new things.When looking at a certain amount of word can easily be measured.

Husband Wants To Save Marriage But I Don't

So, what must be a Herculean task to live to see what changed.Many people have saved her own marriage may not be helpful to save your association is within the relationship.Try to sought out problem in your marriage is a good level that fits the needs of my life.Hitting your spouse did or do you want to save the marriage starts to go through the internet.The most important tools used to have no control over how your partner is really necessary to maintain a strong union that stands the test of time.

Now is the acknowledgement and acceptance of God through your differences.Marriages are partnerships and it will take a step back and catch your spouse wants to talk with each other?Factors like work, and child rearing stress can overrun everything and do some fun activities that you want when you are sorry for whatever she or he really knows his stuff.Accepting your spouse's demands but Waterman emphasises assertion as opposed to aggression in resolving conflicts become more negative in their marriage.Blaming the situation sorted out properly.

[breazyvapors]

Vape News in Brief – July 5th, 2017 Edition

Vape News in Brief – July 5th, 2017 Edition   Greetings, and happy Fourth of July weekend! Time once again for our weekly roundup of all things vape, as seen through the lens of the global media. With no further ado:   A new study finds that 113 pets in the UK were poisoned by e-liquid last year. That's certainly regrettable, and it offers us another moment to remind everyone out there to make sure that your liquid supply and vaping gear is secured and firmly out of reach of both children and animals, who might be attracted to sweet smells and ignorant to the danger of nicotine. Keeping things in perspective, however, e-cig poisoning cases were outnumbered by chocolate (579), rat poison (759), artificial sweeteners (253), and even vitamin D tablets (148).   More from the Big Tobacco front: British American Tobacco is publicizing a new study that suggests that, unlike tobacco smoke, vapor has little effect on the body's ability to heal small cuts and scratch wounds. Exposure to tobacco smoke 20% of the time, the company says, is enough to entirely prevent such wounds from healing. On the other hand, even 100% exposure to vapor, even when that vapor contains more nicotine than its tobacco counterpart, no difference was noted in the body's healing ability as compared to complete non-exposure.   Keep Austin Normal – the otherwise quirky Texas city's council has voted for a complete and total ban on vapor products everywhere tobacco is banned. That's pretty much every public space in town. Unfortunately, despite Austin's claimed penchant for the "weird," it's just following in the footsteps of many other US municipalities clamoring to "de-normalize" personal vaporizer use.   Canada, meanwhile, is moving toward a legislative framework that will place restrictions on the sale and promotion of vapor products while recognizing them as a significant harm-reduction tool that offers benefits to current smokers. Instead of fighting wrong-headed bans left and right, we can only hope for a time legislators stateside will give vapers a seat at the table to craft sensible laws to ensure consumer safety (including youth sales restrictions) while being frank about the science at the same time.   Hooray for science! Here's more on that wound study, along with a debunking of previously-spread suggestions that vaping leads to blood vessel damage and heart disease. There is, however, a nod to the contested study linking e-cigs to DNA alteration, and a troubling-yet-seemingly-legitimate study linking some chemicals in vapor to bladder cancer – the same ones are present in tobacco smoke, but a risk is a risk.   More science – dual users, or people who continue to smoke while partially converting to vaping, are less likely to consider themselves smokers, and therefore don't believe their behavior is as risky as it is. The evidence shows, though, that continuing to smoke even when replacing the majority of one's cigarettes with vaping means that there's little or no health benefit whatsoever from vaping. Nearly all of us started out as dual users, taking weeks or months to wean ourselves off cigarettes entirely – but completing your quit is an absolute must if you want to reap the health benefits of switching.   Boo, fake "science!" – yet another new study suggests that teens who try vaping are three times likelier to try smoking as those who don't. The study admits that it didn't attempt to identify the reason why vaping teens would experiment with tobacco, which is a critical flaw – most smokers take up the habit in their teens, evidence has long shown. Some people are inclined to experiment with nicotine and a host of other substances, others aren't (good for them!). Common sense, though, suggests that a willingness to experiment with one product (vaporizers) would naturally represent a greater willingness to experiment with another (cigarettes). Without giving this factor any consideration, and without considering that teen smoking rates are at all-time lows (which suggests at least some potential smokers are either solely vaping or returning to vaping after their tobacco experiments), findings like these have to be dismissed as what they are: junk "science."   As warned, vape shops across Pennsylvania are closing their doors following the imposition of a 40 percent state tax on vapor products. The move was intended to close a budget gap on the backs of those attempting to quit smoking, but many have predicted it'll backfire as shop closings lead to lower overall tax revenue and increased unemployment.   Down under: This editorial sagely advises Australian lawmakers, who are considering legalizing vapor products (they've existed in a grey area with liquid nicotine verboten until now), to set aside arguments in favor of demonizing smokers. It makes more sense, the *Sydney Morning Herald* says, to focus on getting as many people as possible to voluntarily quit smoking, even if it's by switching to a harm-reduction alternative like vaping rather than by using other nicotine replacement therapies or quitting cold turkey. After all, the easier it is to quit, and the more people are encouraged to do so, the better off we'll all be – right?   Duncan Hunter Jr., the semi-famous vaping congressman from El Cajon, CA (a San Diego suburb) is at it again, puffing away during a legislative session to illustrate what he found to be a nonsensical new regulation to ban nicotine-containing e-cigs on planes that doesn't address the legal treatment of devices containing nicotine-free liquid. We can't say whether or not this helps the cause, but it's amusing nonetheless.   Remember those findings a few notes up about vaping leading to teen smoking? They're already being debunked. Click through, if for nothing else, to look at the chart of numbers released directly by the US government showing that even as teen vaping was on the rise (it's now in decline, thanks to tighter age-restriction laws), cigarette use was declining.   Here's an "exploding e-cigarette" story that actually gets the facts right. Unfortunately, the irresponsible vaper at its heart is blaming Sony for the fact that he chose to carry a spare battery in his pocket without attempting to place it in a carrying case, which allowed it to come into contact with loose change and keys, leading the cell to discharge at a dangerously rapid rate. We can't stress the importance of battery safety enough – please check out our blogs for more on this issue and NEVER carry your batteries unless they're safely secured.   Remember that Pennsylvania tax that's killing the vape industry? Californians have it even worse, with the tax on e-liquids containing nicotine rising twice in the last six months. The tax rate is now more than 65% of the wholesale cost of a bottle of liquid.   Whew, it's been a busy week! Tune in next Sunday, where there's sure to be even more that, as a responsible and well-informed vaper, you need to know… https://breazy.com/blogs/updates/vape-news-in-brief-july-5th-2017-edition?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr #vape #vaping #breazy

[nancyedimick]

Why successful people should not feel guilty about voting with their feet, but should instead make it easier for others to do the same

Famed writer J.D. Vance, author of the powerful book Hillbilly Elegy, recently wrote an interesting New York Times column about the potential problems caused by the tendency of successful people to leave struggling regions for greener pastures elsewhere:

Experts have warned for years now that our rates of geographic mobility have fallen to troubling lows. Given that some areas have unemployment rates around 2 percent and others many times that, this lack of movement may mean joblessness for those who could otherwise work.

But from the community’s perspective, mobility can be a problem. The economist Matthew Kahn has shown that in Appalachia, for instance, the highly skilled are much likelier to leave not just their hometowns but also the region as a whole. This is the classic “brain drain” problem: Those who are able to leave very often do….

As one of my college professors recently told me about higher education, “The sociological role we play is to suck talent out of small towns and redistribute it to big cities….”

[W]e often frame civic responsibility in terms of government taxes and transfer payments, so that our society’s least fortunate families are able to provide basic necessities. But this focus can miss something important: that what many communities need most is not just financial support, but talent and energy and committed citizens to build viable businesses and other civic institutions….

Of course, not every town can or should be saved. Many people should leave struggling places in search of economic opportunity, and many of them won’t be able to return…. But those of us who are lucky enough to choose where we live would do well to ask ourselves, as part of that calculation, whether the choices we make for ourselves are necessarily the best for our home communities — and for the country.

Vance writes that such considerations played a role in his own decision to move back to his home state of Ohio after attending Yale Law School and working in Silicon Valley. Having achieved success by departing the struggling community where he grew up, he has now returned to the same region, in part of out of a sense of civic duty.

Vance’s concern for disadvantaged communities is admirable. But the advice he offers civic-minded successful people may not be the best way for them to help. In most cases, they can best serve society by living wherever they can be most productive. If an engineer or a computer programmer can produce more and better innovations in Silicon Valley than in her hometown in Appalachia, she might well benefit society more by moving than by staying put. The ideas and products she develops will help not only people in Silicon Valley but those back in Appalachia, as well. Over time, even people who stay put benefit greatly from the achievements of those who move in search of opportunity.

Vance’s own life story is actually an example of this dynamic. If you read his moving book, it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that his life was transformed by moving: leaving home to join the Marine Corps, get a college degree at Ohio State University, and eventually going to Yale, opened up opportunities that he probably would never have had if he had not left home. As a result, he is now a far more productive member of society than he likely would have been otherwise.

Although Vance has returned to his home state, he did not move back to the depressed community where he grew up, but to Columbus, a growing city whose economy has done very well in recent years. He likely concluded that he and his family would be happier, more productive, and better able to serve society there than in a less successful part of the state.

Vance’s Appalachian “hillbilly” background could hardly be more different from my own, as an immigrant from Russia. But there is one important commonality: both our lives were transformed for the better by moving. The same is true of many millions of other people. Historically, voting with your feet has been a powerful engine of upward mobility for immigrants and native-born Americans alike.

Moreover, people who “vote with their feet” for regions with greater economic opportunity and better public policy incentivize jurisdictions to adopt better policies in order to be more competitive. That too can benefit society as a whole, not just those who actually move.

Vance also worries that if successful people move to areas with greater opportunity, that may exacerbate ideological segregation in society, thereby worsening political polarization. Such polarization is indeed a serious problem. But the evidence suggests that geographic mobility is not a major factor in exacerbating this problem, and in some cases might even make it less severe rather than more. The so-called “Big Sort” probably is not a major cause of our political dysfunctions.

Despite my reservations about some other aspects of his argument, Vance is absolutely right to point to the dangers of declining mobility for the poor. Scholars on both the right and left have warned that such factors as excessive zoning and occupational licensing have made it more difficult for the disadvantaged to move to areas with greater opportunity. There is much we can do to make it easier for people to achieve upward mobility by moving. Foot voting transformed both Vance’s life and my own. And it can do the same for many others who currently feel trapped.

Those who have been fortunate enough to achieve a measure of success thanks to mobility should not feel guilty about it. We can help society best by being productive citizens and – where possible – working to ensure that the foot voting opportunities that benefited us become more available to others.

Originally Found On: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2017/03/30/why-successful-people-should-not-feel-guilty-about-voting-with-their-feet-but-should-instead-make-it-easier-for-others-to-do-the-same/

[wolfandpravato]

Why successful people should not feel guilty about voting with their feet, but should instead make it easier for others to do the same

Famed writer J.D. Vance, author of the powerful book Hillbilly Elegy, recently wrote an interesting New York Times column about the potential problems caused by the tendency of successful people to leave struggling regions for greener pastures elsewhere:

Experts have warned for years now that our rates of geographic mobility have fallen to troubling lows. Given that some areas have unemployment rates around 2 percent and others many times that, this lack of movement may mean joblessness for those who could otherwise work.

But from the community’s perspective, mobility can be a problem. The economist Matthew Kahn has shown that in Appalachia, for instance, the highly skilled are much likelier to leave not just their hometowns but also the region as a whole. This is the classic “brain drain” problem: Those who are able to leave very often do….

As one of my college professors recently told me about higher education, “The sociological role we play is to suck talent out of small towns and redistribute it to big cities….”

[W]e often frame civic responsibility in terms of government taxes and transfer payments, so that our society’s least fortunate families are able to provide basic necessities. But this focus can miss something important: that what many communities need most is not just financial support, but talent and energy and committed citizens to build viable businesses and other civic institutions….

Of course, not every town can or should be saved. Many people should leave struggling places in search of economic opportunity, and many of them won’t be able to return…. But those of us who are lucky enough to choose where we live would do well to ask ourselves, as part of that calculation, whether the choices we make for ourselves are necessarily the best for our home communities — and for the country.

Vance writes that such considerations played a role in his own decision to move back to his home state of Ohio after attending Yale Law School and working in Silicon Valley. Having achieved success by departing the struggling community where he grew up, he has now returned to the same region, in part of out of a sense of civic duty.

Vance’s concern for disadvantaged communities is admirable. But the advice he offers civic-minded successful people may not be the best way for them to help. In most cases, they can best serve society by living wherever they can be most productive. If an engineer or a computer programmer can produce more and better innovations in Silicon Valley than in her hometown in Appalachia, she might well benefit society more by moving than by staying put. The ideas and products she develops will help not only people in Silicon Valley but those back in Appalachia, as well. Over time, even people who stay put benefit greatly from the achievements of those who move in search of opportunity.

Vance’s own life story is actually an example of this dynamic. If you read his moving book, it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that his life was transformed by moving: leaving home to join the Marine Corps, get a college degree at Ohio State University, and eventually going to Yale, opened up opportunities that he probably would never have had if he had not left home. As a result, he is now a far more productive member of society than he likely would have been otherwise.

Although Vance has returned to his home state, he did not move back to the depressed community where he grew up, but to Columbus, a growing city whose economy has done very well in recent years. He likely concluded that he and his family would be happier, more productive, and better able to serve society there than in a less successful part of the state.

Vance’s Appalachian “hillbilly” background could hardly be more different from my own, as an immigrant from Russia. But there is one important commonality: both our lives were transformed for the better by moving. The same is true of many millions of other people. Historically, voting with your feet has been a powerful engine of upward mobility for immigrants and native-born Americans alike.

Moreover, people who “vote with their feet” for regions with greater economic opportunity and better public policy incentivize jurisdictions to adopt better policies in order to be more competitive. That too can benefit society as a whole, not just those who actually move.

Vance also worries that if successful people move to areas with greater opportunity, that may exacerbate ideological segregation in society, thereby worsening political polarization. Such polarization is indeed a serious problem. But the evidence suggests that geographic mobility is not a major factor in exacerbating this problem, and in some cases might even make it less severe rather than more. The so-called “Big Sort” probably is not a major cause of our political dysfunctions.

Despite my reservations about some other aspects of his argument, Vance is absolutely right to point to the dangers of declining mobility for the poor. Scholars on both the right and left have warned that such factors as excessive zoning and occupational licensing have made it more difficult for the disadvantaged to move to areas with greater opportunity. There is much we can do to make it easier for people to achieve upward mobility by moving. Foot voting transformed both Vance’s life and my own. And it can do the same for many others who currently feel trapped.

Those who have been fortunate enough to achieve a measure of success thanks to mobility should not feel guilty about it. We can help society best by being productive citizens and – where possible – working to ensure that the foot voting opportunities that benefited us become more available to others.

Originally Found On: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2017/03/30/why-successful-people-should-not-feel-guilty-about-voting-with-their-feet-but-should-instead-make-it-easier-for-others-to-do-the-same/