Chris' East vs West

Is the state a drain? I don't think so.

Like you mentioned before on another topic, ND has a great work force who are just dying to find a job here. My major and one of my minors pertains to the Computer/Tech industry, and there are very few jobs. I checked through the Fargo Forum yesterday and didn't see anything that pertains to me...NOTHING. I think that's sad considering there's 3 colleges in the area, and some tech schools who are graduating students in the same field as me. No jobs means we'll lose some great talent for the state.

A lot of money goes to CRP in the state, ALOT. But I think the CRP program is needed. The issue surrounding the surplus is something I don't know enough about, I would hope that someone with a better Ag. backround could enlighten me on this. Agriculture weighs heavier on the area economies than most think. We need to keep the rural economies alive, I think even at the expense of the taxpayers. But at what point is it too much? I don't know. Don't quote me on this, but I remember a recent statistic that only 5 cities in North Dakota are increasing in population?

Jobs, we need them bad.

For every dollar that ND pays to the federal government they recieve close to a $1.50 back. If you look at it that way, I guess you could consider ND a drain on the country since more money is being spent here than is being put in.

This is not the way it should be nor is it the way North Dakotans want it to be. ND is a rural farming state and with the way farming has been it's no wonder that people are leaving. In my opinion we need a lot more CRP. Farmers are basically on welfare producing crops that are almost worthless. I have an uncle in IA who would rather have his crop burn up in a drought than have a bumper year. Why? Because he gets paid more when he raises nothing.

Right now a lot of money is being paid for farmers for nothing. CRP benefits everyone. I can't remember where I read it but CRP actually saves taxpayers money by having cleaner water and other benefits. Plus an acre in CRP is an acre not in production. Less crops would equal higher grain prices (in theory). There's a lot of other stuff that plays a large factor (like overseas production). All I know is that if you want to save ND you're going to have to save the family farm to do so.

I just don't see how some of these rural communities are going to make it. They call these fee operations economic development. The way I see it is that the families of the fee outfits will make it and continue to live there, but how is this going to bring in companies for jobs? Small communities close to Fargo will continue to grow because there are jobs here and people are willing to live close to town and stores. This is how I see it. To bring life to these small towns you have to have something to offer. I don't think having great pheasant hunting is going to attract a lot of people because what good is hunting if you can't make a living. This hospitality board and business development should be accountable for bringing in business. They don't seem to be getting the job done and focusing on the fee issue is a waste of time. They should have jobs based on performance. If I don't produce at work then I'm gone. The way I see these people aren't producing so maybe it's time to move on....