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The Rural Brain Drain

Last Thursday’s event at the New America Foundation on the “rural brain drain” billed itself as examining a “major policy problem that has largely escaped media and political attention.” Indeed, you may get glimpses of this issue from time to time–as we did when media attention was focused on the rural “meth problem” earlier this […]

Last Thursday’s event at the New America Foundation on the “rural brain drain” billed itself as examining a “major policy problem that has largely escaped media and political attention.” Indeed, you may get glimpses of this issue from time to time–as we did when media attention was focused on the rural “meth problem” earlier this decade–but it is, for the most part, invisible. The flight of population and talent from small, primarily Midwestern towns has been steady for decades now. The best and brightest often depart for better economic climes, joining the “creative class” as popularized by Richard Florida. Those who are left behind are left with few opportunities, with both agriculture and industry shrinking their workforces and depressing wages. (Two facts were mentioned that I cannot corroborate but are striking: (1) The average size of farms in Iowa has doubled since 1990 and (2) wages in the meatpacking industry, a significant employer in the Midwest, are now 1/3 of what they were fifteen years ago.)

The social implications of this process for the small towns themselves are disturbing. The economic dislocations coincide with all sorts of other problems: crime, family breakdown, drug abuse, etc. Of course, in the long run, even the very existence of these towns is at stake. Much of the Great Plains — little more than a century after being settled extensively — has simply emptied.

A common enough interpretation of this phenomenon is that it reflects the march of progress. The rural exodus is merely part of America’s steady urbanization and transition into a “new economy.” Why should we get all worked up about the sad but inevitable? I would submit that conservatives should be concerned. Even if you are not a follower of Wendell Berry, one can see the virtues of an agrarian way of life: its closeness to nature, distance from the distractions and temptations of urban life, and largely traditional culture. Even the Republican Party should worry. After all, small town America, the “Heartland,” is a central part of its mythology.

How can we repopulate the interior again? The policy suggestions proffered at the event were a mixed bag, many calling for sustained government intervention, i.e. building a broadband infrastructure or a high-speed rail system. Others were slightly less statist: offering land or tax incentives to newcomers or “returners.” These are all well and good, but I think they miss the gorilla in the room: mass culture. Other than perhaps country music, our culture is overwhelmingly urban. I would think that the comforts and entertainment of modern life exert a huge allure for the rural young. I doubt much in the way of incentives or infrastructure investment could overcome that powerful force.

Do any TAC readers have firsthand experience with this “brain drain”? Listening to sociologists talk about this is one thing, but it would be nice to hear about it straight from the horse’s mouth.

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