Our leaning on the crutch of the Virginia lottery to pay for education is demeaning and insulting. The message is that we don't think it is important to tax ourselves to support the schools but rather will depend on the mathematically illiterate hoping that Lady Luck will lift them out of the life to which, for many, a poor education has consigned them. Localities that depend on real estate taxes based on declining values will struggle to keep up. Even the construction of public schools is done by lending money to poor localities. Serious concern about the fiscal prospects for local government would be a winner for Democrats.
Health care is another area where cities and rural areas are increasingly left behind.
There is no greater disparity in our prosperous America than the availability of health care. Our cities have historically served this role, but they are seen as unliveable by many. If we work to solve the problems of the cities we will save the countryside, and slow the increasing congestion in our suburbs. The position of Democrats on gun control needs to be articulated with as much force as the NRA uses.