Monday, October 17, 2016

The Lost Folks of Rural America


I have done a great deal of traveling throughout the USA during my life.  Rural areas tend to revolve around church, family and small town living.  I recall many small town folk I met being astounded that I could actually like living in NYC.  To them it was unthinkable to live in such a crowded place with so much noise and so many different people...scary they said.

It's also true that for many of these folks small town life has disappeared with the collapse of manufacturing in the US.  In order to be competitive, many manufacturers have moved jobs to Indonesia, Vietnam, China or other areas where labor is cheap.  That leaves our small town areas without hope.

At the same time some stores, like Walmart, have done a great job of destroying Mom & Pop shops in virtually every town where they open.  They even encourage their workers to apply for SNAP.  Many of their products are also made exclusively outside the US.   Their lack of full time positions and low wages keep workers poor.

It's understandable that these folks are infuriated...they feel forgotten...and they're right.  They have been forgotten.  These men have lost their ability to provide for their families... their very manhood is threatened by these changes.  Their women are angry, feeling their men have been lost in the shuffle. They see a hero in Donald Trump.

BUT...we know that Donald doesn't actually plan to do a thing for these folks... it's just an electioneering fraud on his part that will only make these folks poorer because Donald has built his business on the backs of the poor...

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