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In Rural America, Lack of Jobs Is Deepest Concern Facing Community
The Washington Free Beacon ^ | June 19, 2017 | Ali Meyer

Posted on 06/19/2017 10:13:58 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet

Lack of jobs is the deepest concern facing communities in rural America, according to a poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

President Trump carried rural areas in 2016, and the foundation wanted to understand the experiences and political views of individuals in these areas. For this study, researchers polled voters in Ashtabula County in Ohio.

Fifty-four percent said they approve of Trump’s handling of his job compared with 40 percent who said they disapproved. Fifty-one percent of rural voters were confident that Trump's policies would create jobs, 57 percent said they believed his policies would keep the country safe from terrorism, and 61 percent believed he would protect individual freedoms.

The poll found that most of these voters—21 percent—said jobs were their main concern followed by 14 percent who said drug abuse and 8 percent who named the economy as an issue.

While 67 percent in rural areas said the job market was poor or fair, only 47 percent of individuals polled in urban areas said the same. Additionally, 51 percent of those in rural areas rated the cost of living in their area as poor or fair.

Most of those living in rural areas—39 percent—said that the availability of jobs is about the same as it was 10 years ago, 31 percent said the availability of jobs had gotten worse, and 27 percent said it had gotten better.

A large majority—79 percent—said the area they lived in experienced a loss of jobs in at least one industry, compared with only 32 percent who said the area they lived in recovered from job losses.

However, 38 percent were hopeful that the job market would improve, and 45 percent said they expected it to stay the same. Even more rural residents—43 percent—were hopeful that the standard of living for their children would be better than their current situation. Only 24 percent believed they would get worse.

When asked whether government programs improve an individual's standard of living, views were roughly split even. Thirty-three percent said government programs make things worse, 32 percent said they made them better, and 31 percent said they didn't have an impact.

Most of the residents in rural areas polled said they believed it was important that the government decrease regulations on businesses (68 percent), lower taxes on businesses (79 percent), invest in infrastructure projects (93 percent), make better trade deals (79 percent), and stop illegal immigrants from working in the United States (63 percent).

While only 2 percent of rural voters said that the cost and availability of health care was a main concern to their community, 47 percent said they were confident the president would improve health care, and 54 percent supported the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. Only 40 percent opposed repeal.


TOPICS: Issues; State and Local
KEYWORDS: economy; jobs; obamacare; ruralamerica; trump; trumpeconomy

1 posted on 06/19/2017 10:13:58 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

My opinion:

The plan was to create a population of desperate idle minds that either turn into:

(1) Do nothing druggies and/or criminals
or...
(2) Social Justice Warriors rising up against corporate America (probable druggies and/or criminals mixed in as well)


2 posted on 06/20/2017 1:58:06 AM PDT by Enduro Guy (Always cov fe'fe)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
The article says "Fifty-one percent rated the cost of living in their area as poor or fair."

Political leaders should do well to understand why this is so because people ultimately vote their pocketbooks.

3 posted on 06/20/2017 2:22:00 AM PDT by Ciexyz (I just changed my voter registration to non-affiliated. I'm still conservative & traditionalist.)
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To: Enduro Guy

“The plan was to create a population of desperate idle mind”

IMO, they didn’t think it through much past moving us all into cities and taking our guns so they could break the final opposition to NWO and global gov’t.


4 posted on 06/20/2017 2:58:38 AM PDT by Eisenhower Republican (No tagline required)
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To: Ciexyz

The affects of illegal immigration on the job market are felt more acutely in rural areas. The jobs they take are the only jobs around in many places and wages are already rock bottom. So, I’m not surprised that 63% see illegal immigration as a problem, which progressive demopubs don’t want to hear about. They just don’t get it that there’s no place for illegal immigrants in vast areas of th US. Obama didn’t do anything to bring good jobs to these places.


5 posted on 06/20/2017 3:53:30 AM PDT by virgil (The evil that men do lives after them.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
The effects of gloBULLism, free trade, immigration(both legal and illegal), offshoring and de industrialization are felt more keenly in the small and mid sized factory towns that were once decent places to live and are now a drug addled messes.
6 posted on 06/20/2017 4:06:15 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

MOVE!


7 posted on 06/20/2017 4:34:55 AM PDT by Renkluaf
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Part of a free, democratic society is that we vote with our feet. Some vote to move to the city. Some vote to move to the burbs. Some vote to move to exurbia. So vote to not move.

There are upside and downside to every choice of where to live. Accept it and don’t play the victim.

But is there opportunity for a new economic model?
There are many small IT specialty shops that operate totally online and need little or no face-to-face contact with anyone in the hi tech clusters of Alpharetta, Austin, Bellvue, Silicon Valley, etc.

Would it be possible to create a COOL factor for a small rural hi tech company where people are hi tech but live close to nature and real natural life? Would it be possible to create work-from-home businesses where the homes could be in rural areas?

Well, first, some rural areas have good internet service, some don’t. But aren’t there niche opportunities for the opportunist?


8 posted on 06/20/2017 5:21:09 AM PDT by spintreebob
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To: Renkluaf

We did MOVE to a semi-rural town, very little in the way of jobs beyond fast food. To get away from high taxes and CRIME of Memphis, TN.

I may fuss about the need of a 2 hr round trip drive to see a doctor, but I’d not trade moving back into Memphis for anything. Our taxes, ins on home, car are lower, very little crime. You even see kids on bikes riding around before dark. Neighbors help neighbors regardless of skin color. Seniors walk for exercise, a few ‘carry’ as idiots still don’t fence in their big vicious dogs. Grocery store is our biggest shopping.

Most work in Memphis, many CCW too.


9 posted on 06/20/2017 5:32:14 AM PDT by GailA (Ret. SCPO wife: suck it up Buttercups it's President Donald Trump! DRAIN THE SWAMP)
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To: Enduro Guy

Slavery.


10 posted on 06/20/2017 6:55:54 AM PDT by huldah1776 ( Vote Pro-life! Allow God to bless America before He avenges the death of the innocent.)
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