Prosperity in the Heartland

A recent study at the University of Illinois found that much of rural America is actually prosperous. What accounts for their flourishing? Family ties and civic-minded churches, says the blogger at First Things, at Green Acres is the Place to be. I receive regular newsletters from the U. of I. on research, but must have missed this one of a few days ago.

"Why Some Rural Places Prosper and Others Do Not" was coauthored by Andrew Isserman, Edward Feser, and Drake Warren and published in the International Regional Science Review in July 2009.

Counties in America's Heartland came out on top with half its rural counties prospering. USDA defines the Heartland as Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa and parts of six adjacent states.

In the Southeast and Southwest, fewer than one in twenty rural counties prosper.

Prosperous rural counties have more off-farm jobs, more educated populations, and less income inequality than other rural counties. Geographical factors like climate, topography, distances to cities and airports, and interstate highways are unimportant in distinguishing prosperous counties from others.

"Instead, the results supported what many rural people believe to be true—civically engaged religious groups and a common ancestry can really matter," Isserman said.

Interstate highways and airports not so much. Hmmm. Go tell that to the pork fed Congress that never misses an opportunity for naming. From reading the press release it doesn't look like the scholars will pursue faith and shared values as a reason for prosperity--plan to dig deeper on the lack of prosperity in those counties with high minority populations.

Is there a word in English for this "ism"

A friend sent me Eli Saslow's article "In Findlay, Ohio False Rumors Fly" from WaPo, July 7-13 (weekly). Frankly, it is one of the most outrageously hateful mish mash of anti-middle America that I've ever read. Anecdotal? It's beyond that. A whole article about how white midwestern small town folk are anti-Obama based on one person living in Findlay, Ohio. Imagine a whole race or segment of society condemned because of some behavior of a black citizen or an Asian or Hispanic--the outrage would put the journalist out of work. I'm amazed. Just amazed. Even for WaPo this is one of the worst stereotypes of white (older), small town Americans I've ever seen.

I'll just have to remind you what I think about people who are afraid of Obama and his cronies. I wrote this on May 20 for this blog, while the "is it racism or sexism" debate about Hillary and Obama was still going on, when Iraq and its outcome was still an issue, and before Obama did his World Tour as our emperor-to-be.

Conservatives believe that if a black candidate talks about raising our taxes until our investments are destroyed, regulating what car we can drive, wants judges who will make the constitution their personal playground of their own values and beliefs and waffles on what he said about concessions to militant Moslems who want to destroy our ally Israel, that he's not a good guy to put in the White House. We have a lot of history books (at least those published before the early 90s) that tell about what happens with appeasement--either pre-WWII with the Germans or post-WWII with the Soviets, or with North Korea to close out the Korean War, or even the worse course which was to run off whimpering the way we did in Vietnam. Millions died from our "talks and concessions."

This blogger confronts Saslow's article falsehoods.

Newsbusters busts him for fuzzy math in a different pro-Obama article.

I've looked through Saslow's archives. He is so in the tank for the left, he should be a librarian!

Better safe than snowy

When I left the coffee shop this morning, there was about 1/2" of snow on all my windows, the mirrors, the head lights, hood, roof, etc. I only live 1/2 mile away. But I took out the brush and cleaned it all off. Most accidents happen close to home. I didn't any want loose snow to be picked up from the hood and plastered against my windshield or from my roof on to the next guy. Not everyone was as careful, so I had to watch them too.

Here's what's happening a bit north of us as of 2 p.m. today--looks like Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York.

"GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) - A foot of snow blanketed parts of Michigan and Wisconsin during the night, closing schools Tuesday and causing numerous traffic accidents. At least three traffic deaths were blamed on the weather in Michigan. Winter weather also was blamed for deaths in Oklahoma and Kentucky.

Snow started falling Monday and continued early Tuesday, piling up about a foot deep in western Michigan and up to 13 inches deep in some areas of southeastern Wisconsin. The snowfall started diminishing Tuesday in western Michigan, where the National Weather Service canceled a winter storm warning.

Nearly every school was closed in the Grand Rapids region."

Did you see that Baghdad had snow last week for the first time in about 100 years? That must have been exciting for the kids.