WSJ: Rural America Is the New ‘Inner City’

[JA]

Rural America is experiencing this crisis due not only to broader changes in America's economy, but also the culture found in most of these places. Based upon my interactions with those from rural America, which include many individuals within my own family, I am not particularly surprised regarding their condition. Most of them hold contempt or at least disregard for higher education, are unwilling to relocate for better opportunities, believe Infowars type conspiracy theories about immigrants and the "gay agenda," find unstable family life (divorces, out-of-wedlock births, teenage childbearing) as the norm, and hold contempt for the culture and people in most urban areas. Add to that the lack of skills and local policies that would attract or retain outside investment and a globalized economy that has essentially eliminated the need for their widely dispersed, low-skilled labor and you have the perfect recipe for stagnation and decline - both economically and socially.

The only way to reverse this in the long-term is to focus on changing their cultures and attracting outside investment, both of which will be fiercely resisted. But, for the sake of future generations, that is essential. Not to mention many of them will simply need to relocate to urban areas for more opportunity; whether that is right or wrong does not matter at this point when they must focus on mere survival.