We need some state names for these. A few -stans would be appropriate as well.

  • EnsignWashout@startrek.website
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    2 days ago

    This still has the representative issue that each of the narrow bands are narrow due to a huge metropolis within them, and the rural population of that band will always live with rules created by the metropolis for the metropolis.

    It’s a pretty map, though.

    And is still makes more sense than “carefully negotiated by powerful ultra rich a few hundred years ago to protect each of their giant egos.”

    • Yozul@beehaw.org
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      2 days ago

      Man, it would be such a massive upgrade for the western US if the borders had been carefully negotiated by… literally anyone, for any reason. They’re actually just mostly straight lines drawn at random by people who had never been within a thousand miles of them, and they make absolutely no sense at all.

      Also, for the record, I hate the idea that cities and the rural areas surrounding them should be separate and have no shared finances and no say in how each other are run. That’s a stupid plan that would immediately result in rural areas having their infrastructure fail, and the cities then all starving. It is a very, very stupid idea, and the very fact that there is a big urban/rural cultural divide is one of the things killing America.

      • EnsignWashout@startrek.website
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        1 day ago

        the very fact that there is a big urban/rural cultural divide is one of the things killing America.

        I agree wholeheartedly about the problem. But blind highest count vote on every topic is one of the big dividers between rural and urban folks.

        Rural folks will simply never have the numbers to influence outcomes in a pure vote count scenario. They’re aware of this, and it leads to animosity.

        Incidentally, I agree that financial decoupling would be ruinous for both, as well.

        The real solution is represtational seats that give everyone a voice - no matter how the voting zone is divided.

        I suspect that requires doing away with first-past-the-poll. The winner of that race will almost always be a city person, by raw numeric chance. That’s fine, city folks have some good ideas. The problem is when there’s no rural voice at the negotiation, at all.

        And I think any sensible person realizes we also have to put a stop to all gerrymandering.

        Also, we need to give seats to what remains of all of the first nations, while we’re at it.