EXCERPT: “Rural communities are bracing for a looming recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic, expecting that it could devastate already shaky economies. As the virus shuts down schools, factories, restaurants and other businesses, rural towns contend with a smaller tax base, less access to high-speed internet and growing strain among lenders. Both farming and manufacturing have been hurt in recent years under President Donald Trump’s trade wars, which in turn took tolls on community banks concentrated in the Midwest. Stimulus policies since the last recession have been less effective in rural areas, where key industries like agriculture, mining and manufacturing have struggled for years even as other corners of the U.S. economy boomed. An aging and shrinking rural population, plus immigration controls, have left rural areas with a smaller labor pool, while new businesses have disproportionately cropped up in bigger cities.” FULL STORY: https://fluence-media.co/2JpRlE1
