Trying to ‘Save’ the Rural Economy
nytimes.com
Trying to ‘Save’ the Rural Economy
1–10 of 257 posts
Re: Trying to ‘Save’ the Rural Economy
#2Are these same small towns also insulated from market crashes and recessions?
Is there some benefit to greater America from their existence?
Edit: apparently people are interpreting my comment negatively. I was seriously asking if these small town communities can act as a sort of buffer during recessions because of their relative isolation, thereby limiting negative effects. I'm not questioning whether they should exist or anything nonsensical like that.
Re: Trying to ‘Save’ the Rural Economy
#3Are these same small towns also insulated from market crashes and recessions? Is there some benefit to greater America from their existence? Edit: apparently people are interpreting my comment negatively. I was seriously asking if these small town communities can act as a sort of buffer during recessions because of their relative isolation, thereby limiting negative effects. I'm not questioning whether they should ex…
Is there some benefit to greater America from their existence?
Are you asking if there's a good reason why these small towns should exist?
Re: Trying to ‘Save’ the Rural Economy
#4Are these same small towns also insulated from market crashes and recessions? Is there some benefit to greater America from their existence? Edit: apparently people are interpreting my comment negatively. I was seriously asking if these small town communities can act as a sort of buffer during recessions because of their relative isolation, thereby limiting negative effects. I'm not questioning whether they should ex…
That's a good question... I have often wondered if many of our environmental/political problems would be solved if we helped everyone move to major cities.
But the city environment undeniably makes many people less happy. Studies have shown a link between urban living and mental illness.
So it might be nice to maintain options for humans who thrive in a more rural environment.
Re: Trying to ‘Save’ the Rural Economy
#5For what it's worth the submission title here ("Turning small towns into tech hubs isn't working") doesn't appear in the article.
The basic reasoning of the article:
...the high-tech industries powering the economy today don’t have much need for the cheap labor that rural communities contributed to America’s industrial past. They mostly need highly educated workers. They find those most easily in big cities, not in small towns.
In a report published in November, Mark Muro, William Galston and Clara Hendrickson of the Brookings Institution laid out a portfolio of ideas to rescue the substantial swathe of the country that they identify as “left behind.” They identify critical shortages bedeviling declining communities: workers with digital skills, broadband connections, capital. And they have plans to address them: I.T. training and education initiatives, regulatory changes to boost lending to small businesses, incentives to invest in broadband.
...the authors concede that they may not be up to the task. “I don’t know if these ideas are going to work,” Mr. Galston acknowledged when I pressed him on the issue. “But it is worth making the effort.”
The article is essentially laying out the idea of encouraging the tech sector to develop in rural communities and says it might work, but notes that even proponents aren't certain. The pressure of agglomeration is high in the tech industry, and that concentrates jobs in big cities.
Re: Trying to ‘Save’ the Rural Economy
#6Counterpoint: I hear there are some startups thriving on Vancouver island in a few small towns.
Re: Trying to ‘Save’ the Rural Economy
#7Small towns cannot be tech hubs, because that's not even what a 'hub' is. It would be the end node, or an outlier constantly. I'm from a small town but we have one huge industry which employs around 80% of the local community. The rest of the folks are in construction, service industries, schools, etc. No amount of effort would turn that region into a tech or innovation hub without it also turning it into a city.
Instead of trying to shore up the weaknesses of rural communities how can they play to their strengths? A small community and lifestyle has lots of benefits over living in the city but you have to value both working in tech (remotely) _and_ what a small community has to offer.
Re: Trying to ‘Save’ the Rural Economy
#8It seems to be working for the small town I grew up in. However, it gained its tech industry rather organically with a tech business in town hitting the tech lottery. It comes as no surprise that you cannot force an industry to flourish in small towns, or even big cities for that matter.
Re: Trying to ‘Save’ the Rural Economy
#9Are these same small towns also insulated from market crashes and recessions? Is there some benefit to greater America from their existence? Edit: apparently people are interpreting my comment negatively. I was seriously asking if these small town communities can act as a sort of buffer during recessions because of their relative isolation, thereby limiting negative effects. I'm not questioning whether they should ex…
Is there some benefit to greater America from their existence? Are you asking if there's a good reason why these small towns should exist?
Maybe rural america (energy, food) do Master Blaster style embargo on big cities.
Re: Trying to ‘Save’ the Rural Economy
#10Are these same small towns also insulated from market crashes and recessions? Is there some benefit to greater America from their existence? Edit: apparently people are interpreting my comment negatively. I was seriously asking if these small town communities can act as a sort of buffer during recessions because of their relative isolation, thereby limiting negative effects. I'm not questioning whether they should ex…
The people who lived in towns which thrived long before the economy failed them don't need to justify their existence in economic terms. The question you should be asking is whether or not this economy has any benefit to those people.
What an absolutely inhuman comment this is.