Ranger Rick: You just can’t live in New York any more

I’ve often wondered what people see in big cities, particularly New York.  I’ve been there twice on business and I figured two times too many.

I was there during Mayor David Dinkins’ reign.  Dirty streets, vagrants wandering around, horns and sirens going off all night.  For this country boy, I’d rather be lost in the woods than found in a city.

I found a recent article about a young family leaving New York City because they just couldn’t afford it any more.  Before the COVID-19 pandemic, they were living paycheck to paycheck.  They lived in a 700-square-foot apartment in Brooklyn with two toddlers.  Cost: $3,400 per month.

Child care for a 3-year-old daughter and one-year-old son totaled more than $4,000 a month.

They also enjoyed the activities that made living in New York worth it — great restaurants, events, shows and museums.  In spite of making $120,000 as a couple, it was considered “middle class.”  Money was a constant source of stress, but they didn’t want to give up New York.

Then reality set in after the pandemic hit.  Their lives disappeared. Their daughter’s pre-school shut its doors.  The restaurants closed.  The wife lost her job as a social media worker.  The interior design firm her husband worked was cutting salaries.  They had to move in with her parents because they couldn’t afford the rent any more.

They had to face moving from their beloved city.  They found a house in Savannah, Ga., for $349,000 with three bedrooms, a sun porch, fenced-in back yard complete with orange and lemon trees.They were part of the mass exodus from New York City and New York state because of excessive taxes and disappearing jobs.

Alison Bernstein, the founder and president of Suburban Jungle, a tech and advisory firm that helps families more from urban to suburban areas, has offices in Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington D.C., Boston and more. She said she’s never seen anything like it.  Her team is receiving hundreds of phone calls a week from families interested in leaving large urban centers for suburban, even rural towns.

The bigger question is, are they ready to abandon the politics that caused the high prices — high taxes for city and state — especially in New York.  Many companies are abandoning New York because of the outrageous tax base for much cheaper locales that offer tax relief and sometimes abatements to settle their businesses in their state or town.  If they cling to the same politics they are running from, expect the spreading of liberal cancer and eventually the same problems they were fleeing.

Former Vice President’s gaffes continue

On another note, Vice President Joe Biden is making more gaffes and showing more cognitive disorder signs.  In a recent interview, the interviewer asked Joe about taking a cognitive test to counter the Trump insinuations.  Joe immediately told the interviewer “No I haven’t taken the test, why the hell would I take a test – Come on Man!  That’s like saying to you before you got on this program you take a test for cocaine or not, what do you think … are you a junkie?” (ever notice when Joe is getting his ass handed to him in a debate or discussion he uses the “Come on Man” to deflect attention to the subject at hand?).

Whaaat the hell was that?  Joe just being Joe or is he really losing it?  Comparing this episode with many others over the past few months, it is obvious he is suffering diminishing mental acuity.  The Democrats want to ride this “horse” to the debates with a junk yard dog of a debater like Trump?  It should be clearly obvious this is a huge risk at handing Trump a second term.  Live by the sword, die by the sword?

The polls are showing Biden with a lead in battleground states.  Is this déjà vu?  We saw the same thing with Hillary in 2016 when she got her head handed to her because she was unwilling and too sick to visit those states she thought she had in the bag (specifically Wisconsin).  She had larger numbers in the polls then — double digit numbers over Trump.

No matter what anyone says about Trump and his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, he’s done more than any Democrat would or could.  He had relief ships sent to New York, wards built to house patients (which were never or lightly used), respirators built by the thousands, getting manufacturers to provide protective gear and testing equipment.

The economy was doing better than any time since World War II until the pandemic hit and there is no reason it can’t come back if Trump is elected.  Everyone was doing better under Trump leadership – there is no question.

To elect a sick and unstable Joe Biden would be tragic.  Higher taxes, killing of the fuel industry, spending on a dubious climate change by trillions, a liberal/socialistic government and spending through the roof.  Remember the Obama years? Those were a cake walk compared to what Joe and his minions would put us in.  Want what you see in Portland and Seattle, elect Joe Biden!

But I have faith in the American people in doing the right thing for their families and the country.

The rotting of America from within continues…