It’s metaphorical script writing that most people won’t understand. The ranch is facing the same battles as the state of Montana and other low population states in the Rocky Mountain region. Dutton is a traditionalist and doesn’t want outside influencers changing the political landscape and destroying the lifestyles of families that rely on keeping their lands pristine.
There are plenty of other places that have been developed to provide infrastructure for large population booms and the influx of coastal elites. Montana, Wyoming, etc cannot handle the quick transformation without great sacrifice for current and generational residents. Think of the property tax implications for ranchers who own tens of thousands of acres. They make less and can potentially get put out of business when progressives move in and hike taxes. Now think of the small family farms and ranches that barely get by financially. They go broke and are forced to sell to extremely wealthy individuals and/or corporations with ambitions to turn productive operations into hobby farms or dude ranches.
Think of it as you would if Walmart and Amazon had enough influence to shut down all other grocery stores in the cities. No more Whole Foods, no more locally owned grocery stores. It’s similar.
Now think of an extreme example: Would it be okay to flatten half of Manhattan to plant corn, alfalfa, wheat, to use as pasture for livestock? What if beef ends up at $10,000 per lb in the future and the ranchers are the billionaires? Would you let them drive you out of your homes in the suburbs and allow them to bulldoze your parks and shopping malls so they could increase their profits?
Dutton is fighting for Montana, using his ranch as the template for success.
reply
share