Kevin Drum on Dec. 1 blogged his positions on an assortment of domestic issues. I commented that I agreed with almost all of them (I plan a separate post discussing them in detail) but he embodied the typical Democrat moderate/progressive in totally ignoring rural issues.
Here's my thoughts on some issues:
- it's hard for me to see the revival of rural areas--farms keep getting bigger and more consolidated. Even as some farms hire immigrant labor companies are developing technology to replace labor, especially robots. So the depopulation of the farm areas will continue.
- I think the first priority is broadband for all. Al Gore pushed Internet connectivity back in the day, the Obama administration supported it, but didn't complete the job. (I've no idea of how well or poorly the Trump administration did.)
- Broadband is the key to several things, changes which the pandemic has pushed along.
Telehealth. The pandemic has shown the feasibility of this, provided there's broadband. It needs to be pushed, as does permitting healthcare providers to work across state lines.
USPS. I'd change the structure and financing of USPS to raise its rural profile--to say more specifically that X is the money we, the nation, devote to rural areas.
Remote work. Again the pandemic has shown that working remotely can be manageable.
Drones. Permitting and developing drone delivery might help rural areas.
James Fallows has a piece with a different orientation, but a similar goal--reconnecting rural and urban areas.
[Updated.: And here's another discussion.]
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