Nebraska's Nostalgia Trap (New York Times op ed)

[acmavm]

By RICHARD DOOLING
Published: February 5, 2006

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/05/opinion/05Dooling.html?ex=1296795600&en=5954b7785db87b59&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

<snip>
On average, Nebraska's economy is doing just fine. But a man whose head is in the oven and whose feet are in the freezer takes no comfort in knowing that his average body temperature is perfectly normal. In the same vein, a casual glance at a graph of Nebraska's population growth shows slow, steady increases, going all the way back to 1900, and conceals the fact that 74 of Nebraska's 93 counties are in extremis, with lower populations today than they had in 1920.

Over a third of the state's 1.7 million residents live in greater Omaha, which is booming by many measures, including population growth. According to Ernie Goss, an economist at Creighton University here, Omaha is growing faster than Des Moines, Kansas City and St. Louis.

<snip>
Outside of Omaha and the fishhook, large parts of Nebraska are arguably in trouble. The dismal statistic that trends lower, year after year, for many of these struggling counties, is population.

Farms double in size with a regularity that rivals the seasons, while, almost in tandem, the number of farming families falls by half. The costs for schools, roads and police and fire departments remain relatively constant, but the bodies paying taxes, buying goods and developing land keep disappearing. County officials call it rural flight, brain drain or even mass migration, but despite the alarums, nobody has found a way to stop the excursions.

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[progressoid]

1. Interesting piece

Similar problem here in IA but it seems to be accelerating in NE.

[the observationist]

2. Re: Nostalgia

There are so many issues within the farming situation it is really difficult to put a finger on the root of the problem. If farmers were allowed to set their own prices would that make them more profitable?

If they can't make money why should they be allowed to suck off the tit of society?

Dooling states, "Instead of micro industries, a cynical futurist might see mega-farms, owned by global corporations, and farmed by armies of robot combines, controlled by global positioning satellite technology from offices in Omaha."

Is this really so bad?