A fighting chance: Righting the wrongs against rural America

Caius Z. Willingham and Olugbenga Ajilore explain how federal policymakers have long harmed rural America and what steps can be taken to create a forward-looking rural agenda.

At the start of 2020 rural America was already lagging the nation in economic growth and prosperity. But when the pandemic hit rural areas, it hit hard.

Rural hospitals, diminished by a recent spate of mergers and closures, were quickly overwhelmed by the demand for ICU beds. The lack of broadband access in remote places meant that while many urban workers and students moved their lives online, many of their rural counterparts were left in the dark. Despite the dramatic impact of the pandemic on rural communities, they were mostly overlooked by the CARES Act.

The above excerpt was originally published in The Hill. Click here to view the full article.

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