Gas especially for my first question.
We'd save a lot of tax dollars if we denied them money for gasoline to drive a car to the hospital, money for natural gas/wood to run a heater in the winter, and money for funeral services when they finally die from neglect!
It's simply not possible to argue at this point that urban living is a 'luxury'. Non-urban living is not a realistic option for a large portion of the US population. If you dislike this reality, that is fine - I'd certainly be in favor of efforts to change it - but you can't just willfully disregard it and pretend that people who live in urban areas are greedy or spoiled or something. Living in rural areas in the modern United States comes with dozens of hidden costs, some in the form of actual money spent and others in the form of lost opportunities, impaired health, etc.
By gas, I meant fuel for transportation. One simply cannot survive in a rural area without an automobile and the ability to use it.
Food, ironically is more expensive, and lower quality. I still haven't figured out why (other than market opportunism).
Internet, same as food, more expensive, and lower quality.
TV, I agree is not a necessity, but another example of a common expense that tends to be lower quality in rural areas when compared to urban areas.
OTOH, housing is generally cheaper.
2. Living in rural areas isn't always as cheap as you think. Gas, Food, Internet, Phone, TV, etc.