Patterns of Death in the South Still Show the Outlines of Slavery
fivethirtyeight.com
Patterns of Death in the South Still Show the Outlines of Slavery
1–10 of 117 posts
Re: Patterns of Death in the South Still Show the Outlines of Slavery
#2Almost the only people doing well in rural America are those with generational wealth. I know plenty of people from my small hometown that have been doing okay with their farms. One of them has a gravel business. Those without such luck are either moving to a bigger city or experiencing a declining quality of life, and they're coping with drugs, meth mostly. I can't imagine what that would be like in areas that haven't been able to build that generational wealth.
The question is, how do we get rural economic development going again?
Re: Patterns of Death in the South Still Show the Outlines of Slavery
#3I grew up in Newport News, Virginia. Its one of the towns on the map that is nearly black. I can tell you first hand that many in that city still feel the aftermath of slavery. The poor illiteracy, cognition skills, financial mobility, health, etc, within the black community is truly staggering. I now live in California, but for anybody that claims slavery had no long term effect, go to some of those towns you will be shocked.
Re: Patterns of Death in the South Still Show the Outlines of Slavery
#4Almost the only people doing well in rural America are those with generational wealth. I know plenty of people from my small hometown that have been doing okay with their farms. One of them has a gravel business. Those without such luck are either moving to a bigger city or experiencing a declining quality of life, and they're coping with drugs, meth mostly. I can't imagine what that would be like in areas that haven…
Would remote work help? I would think encouraging or allowing more 'white-collar' workers to be more spread out throughout the country would help increase demand in places other than large cities and tech hubs.
I, for one, miss rural life (wide open space, less traffic, mom and pop stores, etc.) but unfortunately my career as a programmer doesn't cater to that lifestyle all that well.
Re: Patterns of Death in the South Still Show the Outlines of Slavery
#5Almost the only people doing well in rural America are those with generational wealth. I know plenty of people from my small hometown that have been doing okay with their farms. One of them has a gravel business. Those without such luck are either moving to a bigger city or experiencing a declining quality of life, and they're coping with drugs, meth mostly. I can't imagine what that would be like in areas that haven…
Would remote work help? I would think encouraging or allowing more 'white-collar' workers to be more spread out throughout the country would help increase demand in places other than large cities and tech hubs. I, for one, miss rural life (wide open space, less traffic, mom and pop stores, etc.) but unfortunately my career as a programmer doesn't cater to that lifestyle all that well.
Well, yes and no. It would help unless those jobs were shipped overseas. Many jobs that can be done remotely end up outsourced eventually. My father, who is a software developer, works remotely and makes an obscene amount of money for his area, but his position is not normal.
Re: Patterns of Death in the South Still Show the Outlines of Slavery
#6Almost the only people doing well in rural America are those with generational wealth. I know plenty of people from my small hometown that have been doing okay with their farms. One of them has a gravel business. Those without such luck are either moving to a bigger city or experiencing a declining quality of life, and they're coping with drugs, meth mostly. I can't imagine what that would be like in areas that haven…
Would remote work help? I would think encouraging or allowing more 'white-collar' workers to be more spread out throughout the country would help increase demand in places other than large cities and tech hubs. I, for one, miss rural life (wide open space, less traffic, mom and pop stores, etc.) but unfortunately my career as a programmer doesn't cater to that lifestyle all that well.
A few generations of really focused, quality education would help a lot more. Until then, I'm afraid it's a bit of a mess.
Re: Patterns of Death in the South Still Show the Outlines of Slavery
#7Earlier quoted context omitted.
Would remote work help? I would think encouraging or allowing more 'white-collar' workers to be more spread out throughout the country would help increase demand in places other than large cities and tech hubs. I, for one, miss rural life (wide open space, less traffic, mom and pop stores, etc.) but unfortunately my career as a programmer doesn't cater to that lifestyle all that well.
A few generations of really focused, quality education would help a lot more. Until then, I'm afraid it's a bit of a mess.
How would education bring back jobs to rural America?
Re: Patterns of Death in the South Still Show the Outlines of Slavery
#8Almost the only people doing well in rural America are those with generational wealth. I know plenty of people from my small hometown that have been doing okay with their farms. One of them has a gravel business. Those without such luck are either moving to a bigger city or experiencing a declining quality of life, and they're coping with drugs, meth mostly. I can't imagine what that would be like in areas that haven…
This is true and is hardly limited to the Old South. Rural Upstate New York is effectively in the same boat.
Frankly I think trying to develop rural America to be economically competitive to urban America is a bad idea wrapped in the cloak of a well-meaning idea. Infrastructure and services and much (like 2-5x) more expensive over a wide area. And you need a LOT of infrastrucute to reasonably support a professional class economy (just think how many specialist lawyers and doctors you would need before you could justify leaving a metro area).
Instead, we should focus our attention on lowering the cost of living in cities and enact policies that make it easy for people in rural, poorer areas to move to cities, such as a government-paid waiver on the first few months of rent, or a state-subsidized relocation package. There are a lot of people who would like to move but cannot save up enough to pay for relocation, security deposit, and things like that while they look for metro work.
Last time we seriously developed rural America it was in the 1930s, when the needs of an industrial economy were different and primarily the benefit was cheap rural manufacturing labor over costly metro manufacturing labor. But now far cheaper labor and supply chains are in China, so the New Deal framework is moot in this circumstance.
Make it easier for rural folks to come to cities, instead of trying to smear cities across the countryside. I can't see any other sustainable solution.
That being said, it doesn't mean everybody has to pack up for the coasts. A lot could be done to make inland cities like Indianapolis or Chattanooga or St. Louis more attractive to rural residents of their respective states.
Re: Patterns of Death in the South Still Show the Outlines of Slavery
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
A few generations of really focused, quality education would help a lot more. Until then, I'm afraid it's a bit of a mess.
How would education bring back jobs to rural America?
Education would make some of these people employable in the first place, and in jobs which a handful of robot arms can’t do better.
Re: Patterns of Death in the South Still Show the Outlines of Slavery
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
A few generations of really focused, quality education would help a lot more. Until then, I'm afraid it's a bit of a mess.
How would education bring back jobs to rural America?
Making an educated guess: better education with regards to job opportunities requirements allows you to compete in a smaller market so your work won't be offshored.