Telling Rural People To Move Won’t Solve Poverty
“Rural America is in trouble—on this, nearly everyone agrees. It’s shrinking and aging, as college-educated young people leave small, isolated towns for new opportunities. The post-recession recovery in rural areas has lagged behind that of urban centers. But if there is consensus on the problem, solutions are a different matter. From re-training coal miners to funding broadband internet, ideas proliferate and receive piecemeal funding as politicians deem it necessary to earn rural votes. Others, however, have given up. Maybe there’s nothing worth doing, the argument goes; maybe it’s time to let rural America die a natural death.”