WSJ: Rural America Is the New Inner City

[Major Harris]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/rural-america-is-the-new-inner-city-1495817008

 

Quote

At the corner where East North Street meets North Cherry Street in the small Ohio town of Kenton, the Immaculate Conception Church keeps a handwritten record of major ceremonies. Over the last decade, according to these sacramental registries, the church has held twice as many funerals as baptisms.

In tiny communities like Kenton, an unprecedented shift is under way. Federal and other data show that in 2013, in the majority of sparsely populated U.S. counties, more people died than were born—the first time that’s happened since the dawn of universal birth registration in the 1930s.

The Rev. Dave Young examines baptismal records at Immaculate Conception Church in Kenton, Ohio. Over the last decade, the church has hosted more funerals than baptisms. PHOTO: TY WRIGHT FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

For more than a century, rural towns sustained themselves, and often thrived, through a mix of agriculture and light manufacturing. Until recently, programs funded by counties and townships, combined with the charitable efforts of churches and community groups, provided a viable social safety net in lean times.

Starting in the 1980s, the nation’s basket cases were its urban areas—where a toxic stew of crime, drugs and suburban flight conspired to make large cities the slowest-growing and most troubled places. 

Today, however, 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).

 

I think this is a good read. What do we do about it?  Or can we?

 

edit:  I read whole article linked on Facebook this link goes to paywall. 

[Captain Wiggles]

Let the free market run its course. 

[Major Harris]

Just now, clietas said:

Let the free market run its course. 

 

 

Thats pretty much much what is happening. 

 

That wasnt always ways an acceptable solution. 

[Captain Wiggles]

Just now, Major Harris said:

 

 

Thats pretty much much what is happening. 

 

That wasnt always ways an acceptable solution. 

 

Perhaps sending them some bootstraps would help? 

[tshile]

12 minutes ago, Major Harris said:

I think this is a good read. What do we do about it?  Or can we?

 

We need a complete re-understanding of what it means to be a person, first, and an american second. That there is value in making the sure bottom end of society isn't in terrible condition; that those at the top can benefit in ways other than purely based off net worth. We need the people at the top to see that, and we need the people at the bottom to want that - not just want things, or money, but want to be productive, hard working members of society.

 

Need people to actually care about each other - not just friends and family, but random dude in the supermarket as well.  To see the good in people first and want to help, instead of the bad and want to criticize.

 

But yeah, never going to happen at either end, so I guess we should make more draconian drug policies, lower taxes on the rich, and make sure it's really easy for those with money to remove themselves from the bad parts of society and those without to be stuck there (schools, neighborhoods, hospitals, etc.)

[Captain Wiggles]

1 minute ago, tshile said:

 

We need a complete re-understanding of what it means to be a person, first, and an american second. That there is value in making the sure bottom end of society isn't in terrible condition; that those at the top can benefit in ways other than purely based off net worth. We need the people at the top to see that, and we need the people at the bottom to want that - not just want things, or money, but want to be productive, hard working members of society.

 

Need people to actually care about each other - not just friends and family, but random dude in the supermarket as well.  To see the good in people first and want to help, instead of the bad and want to criticize.

 

But yeah, never going to happen at either end, so I guess we should make more draconian drug policies, lower taxes on the rich, and make sure it's really easy for those with money to remove themselves from the bad parts of society and those without to be stuck there (schools, neighborhoods, hospitals, etc.)

 

Sounds like some liberal utopia you're dreaming up there.

[Major Harris]

18 minutes ago, clietas said:

 

Perhaps sending them some bootstraps would help? 

 

That has definitely been an acceptable answer for some people for a long time.  I get what you are saying.  But if that wasn't acceptable to you before but is now, it'd be cool to hear why. 

 

[tshile]

10 minutes ago, clietas said:

 

Sounds like some liberal utopia you're dreaming up there.

 

In some ways, yeah. Or at least what the liberals pretend is their desired state.

 

There are countries that have achieved this - the top values the well-being of the bottom, and the bottom values being productive members of society.

 

These places are small, and very close to monolithic -  not exactly, but close enough especially with respect to our country.

 

So how do you take a country of roughly 325 million people, that's as culturally diverse as possible, and get them all to care about each other and value each other and respect each other instead of thinking they have to defend their culture/way of life or stop those of others?

 

Don't think it's possible.

 

Real leadership could get us there, like some leaders we idolize that are no longer with us, but I don't see how our current state of governance would even allow a person like that to succeed in the ways required to have an impact.

[Burgold]

I read Hillbilly Elegy this year and Vance makes this argument too. Many similar issues and similar despairs as well as breakdowns of the family model.

[Captain Wiggles]

10 minutes ago, Major Harris said:

 

That has definitely been an acceptable answer for some people for a long time.  I get what you are saying.  But if that wasn't acceptable to you before but is now, it'd be cool to hear why. 

 

 

I've generally always believed hard work, determination, and self sacrifice will get one close to where they want to be in life. A little help from time to time certainly never hurts either.