Title: Seeking a Rural Development Policy: Lessons from the National Commission on Agriculture and Rural Development Policy
Abstract: Readers of CHOICES are well aware, the 1980s were hard on rural America. Crises on the farm and in the oil fields were not the only problem. Foreign competition in manufacturing; a shortage of adequate, affordable education, health care, and other vital services; and the physical and social isolation that separate rural America from urban centers of economic activity contributed to the woes of the rural economy. The prosperity of the 1970s brought by the Rural Renaissance was over. The rural economy needed help. Despite the vast problems in rural America, there is no defined rural development policy. Instead, there exists a loose collection of individual programs. This situation is partly due to the division among various federal entities and among the federal, state, and local governments of responsibility for rural development. It may also be partly due to the disadvantage rural interests have compared to urban interests in terms of congressional representation and political power. Yet, rural development is important to rural and urban citizens alike. Indeed, rural development is important for the economic efficiency and security of this country. In the increasingly competitive global economy, the United States simply cannot afford to underuse the valuable resources in rural America. Equity is also an issue. Equal opportunity to basic goods and services and to economic prosperity is a fundamental precept of our national heritage. Many rural Americans are denied that opportunity.
Publication Year: 1991
Publication Date: 1991-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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