I grew up in a rural community, began my career as an organizer in small towns, and now lead one of the largest efforts to rebuild pro-democracy, pro-worker civic capacity in rural America. So I can speak with some authority when I say that President Biden, somewhat surprisingly, has ushered in a new economic paradigm that can radically transform the lives of rural people and build a more politically and economically secure future for all Americans.
He calls his agenda “Bidenomics,” a term that will be hotly debated in the months ahead. But what does it mean? And what’s its significance for rural people?
In simplest terms, Bidenomics arguably is the most significant departure in 40 years from the “free market revolution” that rose to dominance in the 1980s — a dramatic alteration to our country’s economic trajectory.
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The combination of executive and congressional action since Biden took office — from the American Rescue Plan, to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to the CHIPS Act, Inflation Reduction Act and key executive action promoting competition and protecting workers — presents greater potential for revitalizing rural communities than anything since the New Deal. These were huge steps in the right direction, and yet rural people are still struggling. The updated Rural Policy Action Report offers a continued roadmap for how to help rural communities, protect the environment and core freedoms, and renew shared prosperity across geographic divides.
As someone who spent their first 20 years living in rural and very rural areas, they didn’t say anything out of line from what I’ve experienced.
Watching your entire community have terrible health, no job opportunities, awful infrastructure, and little to no access to healthy foods while constantly taking every opportunity to stand in opposition to any politician, bill, or outreach program that may help them is hard to understand.
But I can vouch for the fast food remark. When a Burger King opened in the town I was living in, the line was wrapped around the building and holding up traffic on the road during every mealtime. It was like that for weeks. I moved before the hype died down. A Whopper is a luxury when your other choices is what can be had at a Dollar General and a gas station that sells bruised fruit and single potatoes.
