Our Growing Economy Should Not Leave Rural America Behind

At a basic level, our rural communities — just like cities and suburbs — need job opportunities that retain residents and attract new ones, quality schools, up-to-date infrastructure, accessible and affordable health care, broadband internet, financial institutions that are close by, and affordable housing. How we achieve these goals will require new approaches. We need to level the playing field to help smaller communities compete with larger cities. That means doing more to attract businesses, and encouraging venture funds to invest in startups in rural communities across the country.We need to create pathways that prepare rural Americans for the workforce by promoting middle-skill opportunities in sectors projected to grow, such as health care, technology and clean energy. As just one example, wind turbine service technicians are projected to be one of the fastest-growing occupations in the United States over the next 10 years, and many of these jobs will be located in rural America. We must also take advantage of new technologies to make higher education more accessible and affordable for rural residents, many of whom don’t have a university or community college within 50 to 100 miles of their homes.