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Lucky us who live in cities and love them; A new analysis in the WSJ shows that the folks who live in rural America are by far worse off in general than the rest of us:
"...a Wall Street Journal analysis shows that by many key measures of socioeconomic well-being, those charts have flipped. In terms of poverty, college attainment, teenage births, divorce, death rates from heart disease and cancer, reliance on federal disability insurance and male labor-force participation, rural counties now rank the worst among the four major U.S. population groupings (the others are big cities, suburbs and medium or small metro areas)."
Much has been written already about the loss of population and the "diseases of despair" that hit these areas, like alcoholism, drug use, and suicide, but it's still a bit shocking to me to see how badly off rural areas are. Not only are factories shuttering, but the lack of public transportation, hospitals, child care, and social services compound the ills of daily living.
We whine about all that's wrong with New York, or Chicago, or San Francisco, or any number of other cities. But we should be happy to be there rather than out in the boonies. It's long past time that the U.S. realize that the real face of poverty and social dysfunction isn't just some L.A. gangbanger or thug from East New York or the West side of Chicago.
The question is what will the nation do about it? And should it do anything at all? And if something is to be done, will Trump and the Republicans--whom many if not most of these people voted for--be the ones to do it?
I lived exclusively in rural communities. We have also been debt-free since 2000 which I suspect few that "flocked to the cities" can say.
Statistics are tricky and often say what the person making the study want them to say, much like polls.
Trump is already working on making rural areas better by booting the illegal aliens back where they belong. Much of the lack of "opportunity and prosperity in rural areas is due to illegal aliens flocking in, driving up poverty, etc. and outsourcing of manufacturing jobs. Also, agriculture has taken a big hit, since we bring so much from out of country without a tariff making it hard to impossible for our farmers to compete.
You can have the cities. The cities have a very mobile population making it hard to base statistics on anything of value.
"The nation" doesn't have to do anything, and even if the government did something, we've seen how effective the war on poverty has been...not very, unless the goal was to make it worse.
"The nation" doesn't have to do anything, and even if the government did something, we've seen how effective the war on poverty has been...not very, unless the goal was to make it worse.
We whine about all that's wrong with New York, or Chicago, or San Francisco, or any number of other cities. But we should be happy to be there rather than out in the boonies. It's long past time that the U.S. realize that the real face of poverty and social dysfunction isn't just some L.A. gangbanger or thug from East New York or the West side of Chicago.
The question is what will the nation do about it? And should it do anything at all? And if something is to be done, will Trump and the Republicans--whom many if not most of these people voted for--be the ones to do it?
Fortunately big city or boonies are not the only choices. This rural problem has been slowly boiling for some time, now it is at a tipping point. Trump will not save them I am sorry to say. When there are ZERO hospitals in an area, and normal businesses you need like grocery stores close, it's over. When I travel up through some of those tiny towns hours out from civilization I am amazed how people can make it there.
I live in Twin Falls Idaho..Our unemployment rate is 3.3% in a rural town..in a rural county..in a rural State.
There are many seniors..and many families as well. Generations have grown up together, fostering a tight-knit sense of community.
Homelessness is almost unknown..panhandlers a rarity. I can walk anywhere, anytime, without fear.
I was in Seattle recently--downtown the odor of marijuana mixed with the stench of urine wafting from doorways--the homeless were camped right across from the City Hall. People making $10 an hour were living in hovels. I saw a robbery 50 yards away from me. Sirens were wailing at all hours as the random violence went on 24/7.
I'll keep my small town..thanks.
I may be doing you a disservice..but it seems as though your post is intended..in a subtle way...to portray city people as more intelligent, with more class, than their 'county bumpkin' counterparts. Not everyone in rural America voted for Trump..I certainly did not--but I think that the reason many did was because of the attitudes of smugness and false superiority that many 'city' folk buy into.
Their may well be some truth in what you are saying...but I'd put to you that life is full of trade-offs...country vs. city has its share of them.
Whatever one's choice is...Respect goes a long way--where-ever you live
Which rural areas? I ride and have worked as a groom with horses at shows all over and many of the richest towns I have seen are usually rural places and small towns. belle meade tennessee, horse country in northern virginia, there is a ton of wealth in small towns and rural areas in texas and florida.
Tell you what, you can take your big cities and... well, you know what I want to say. The area I live in may now have a whole bunch of jobs since it has gone from rural to metropolis, but I despise the place more each day. I can't wait until the day I can go to the "boonies." I have a little patch of ground in rural eastern North Dakota. The nearest town has less than two hundred residents. There has been negative growth since the nineteen forties. And I CAN'T WAIT to get there and the day that all I hear is the wind through the grass, a few birds singing, and a tractor out in the field a half mile away. If that's "very bad" give me very bad any day of the week.
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