Not Red vs. Blue States, But 'Retro' vs. 'Metro'

Press Release Source: Polipoint Press

Not Red vs. Blue States, But 'Retro' vs. 'Metro'
Tuesday August 24, 12:32 pm ET
New Book Uncovers America's 'Great Divide,' in Which a Minority of Americans Control the Nation
On the Eve of the Retro Convention, How the Democrats Can Take Back the Country

WASHINGTON, Aug. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The United States has become, in effect, two nations -- divided by history, ethnicity, culture, religion, economics and, especially now, its politics, a new book argues.
In The Great Divide: Retro vs. Metro America, the authors name these two nations "Retro America" and "Metro America," instead of the commonly used "red and blue" states. Retro America consists of the South, the Plains states, the Mountain West and Appalachia. Metro America is the Northeast coast, the West coast and the Great Lakes states.

There is, the authors note, a potential electoral and congressional majority in Metro states that can restore the Democrats to power without appealing to Retro America for support.

Minority Rule and Huge Subsidies

Retro America, through its alliance with the Republican Party, now dominates all three branches of the U.S. government, even though it holds only one-third of the country's population.

It is heavily dependent on government subsidies that underpin oil, gas and coal interests, large-scale farming and military installations, and low-wage manufacturing. It receives far more in federal money than it pays in taxes each year.

The Republican Party has taken advantage of flaws in the outdated electoral college system, as well as constitutional guarantees given small states two centuries ago, to build a powerful base even as the Retro population shrinks. In 2004, 13 small states in Retro America with a combined population of just over 18 million had electoral college voting power equal to California, with its 34 million residents.

A "Retro" minority is effectively running roughshod on the values and agenda of the Metro majority who live in more urban, economically prosperous, and culturally diverse Metro urban-suburban areas.

The Great Divide: Retro vs. Metro America is written by John Sperling, one of the nation's most successful entrepreneurs and the founder of the University of Phoenix, in collaboration with a team of political and economic analysts.

Retro America is made up of 25 states where low wages, subsidies, religious zealotry and social rigidity trump diversity, innovation and educational and scientific achievement. They are states dominated by a mostly rural, conservative, intolerant white male political leadership (though many have large, poor minority populations) for whom social services, public education and economic and cultural change are more worrisome than welcome.

Metro America is the Country's Economic Engine

Metro America, on the other hand, is the nation's engine of economic growth and innovation. It has two-thirds of the country's population, mostly urban and suburban. Some Metro states have important agricultural sectors, but their real growth is in financial and other service industries, which alone account for 41% of the nation's total gross domestic product, as well as in major manufacturing.

More than 80% of all high technology jobs are in Metro America, and Metro America residents pay the taxes that subsidize Retro states. In the 10-year period between 1991-2001, nearly $1.7 trillion in federal tax transfers went from Metro America to Retro America. Ironically, Retro America politicians frequently speak against government spending and taxation, even as they work to preserve this skewed status quo.

Democrats Can Win With Metro Votes

The Great Divide: Metro vs. Retro America says there are enough potential votes in Metro America for Democrats to win and take the country back without watering down their message to try to woo independent and Republican voters in the Retro states.

Instead, say the authors, the Democrats must turn out the numerical advantage they have in Metro America to regain control of the Presidency and the House of Representatives. Only then can they unite the country and curtail the subsidy revenue transfers that deprive the entire country of the funds it needs for infrastructure -- schools, housing and crucial social services for an increasing urban population.

"The values of Retro society are now triumphant in Washington," says businessman Sperling and his co-authors, economists Suzanne W. Helburn, John R. Morris and Carl E. Hunt and political strategist Samuel George. "The Radical Right path now being blazed by President Bush and the Republican Party of God, Flag, and Family is leading all of America back to Retro, rather than forward to Metro America," they write.

Some states on each side of The Great Divide have elements characteristic of states on the other side. For example, six states that voted Republican in 2000 -- Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Ohio, New Hampshire and Virginia -- have more in common economically and culturally with Metro America.

Pockets of cultural sophistication, religious tolerance, and modern economic development also exist in Retro America, but vast changes in politics are necessary before Retro states join Metro states in a modern and unified 21st century economy. Only if a Metro majority government takes power, will the investments in science, technology and education take place across all of America to propel all citizens forward, according to the authors.

Welfare for the Retro States

Retro states are dependent on subsidy-heavy industries and federally supported military installations. These interests today are looked after by some 53 members of the Bush Administration who have close ties to the energy and other extraction industries of Retro America. Dozens of additional political appointees are similarly connected, as are at least ten Congressional committee chairs and ranking members. The political clout of Retro states cannot be overstated.

This industrial base of Retro America is a remnant of America's old economy, with little potential for growth. The nation's recent economic innovation and progress is taking place almost exclusively in Metro America, which also bears the tax burden that provides welfare payments to Retro America.

Race and Religion

Blacks and women have little voice in Retro America, particularly in Republican Party politics and policies. To embrace America's growing diversity would end the White spoils system that the Republican Party has operated for decades.

Among the privileges the Republican Party indulges in on behalf of Retro America is an apparent right to reject facts in favor of faith. By a substantial percentage difference, more Retros than Metros think that Biblical principles should be applied to areas of major domestic policies. The Bush Administration often acts on a fundamentalist, faith-based willingness to ignore or twist scientific data that contradicts a Biblical worldview, say the authors.

Culture and Science

The book contends that, "Education and science are major artifacts of culture. By every index of excellence in education at every grade level and in every subject -- arts, science, and technology -- Metro America always excels."

A powerful religious minority in the Retro states has shaped communities that perceive cultural expression, higher education and scientific innovation as a threat. This is echoed by legislatures in Retro states, which often impose Christian values on education with laws on "evolution" and prayer, and assign low priority to spending for schools, higher education and research, and museums, theaters and concert halls.

The Great Divide: Retro vs. Metro America presents a new thesis about divisions in America that grow more alarming each day. Democratic pollster Celinda Lake, who assembled and supervised the book's public opinion research, notes that often "the political parties magnify the Metro/Retro differences by adopting policies designed to divide rather than unite."
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Source: Polipoint Press