USA: “Jump starting” the rural economy by re-invigorating a vanishing resource depleted industry?
William Freudenberg in Rural Sociology titled Addictive Economies
(attached), which takes the position that, once natural resource
(timber) market forces have abandoned rural locations (as they have in
the west), attempts to re-install them via subsidies, etc. are doomed
to fail, and the effort to re-invigorate them is addictive and
destructive to the communities. Just say no. The drive for thinning,
etc., is such an effort ro re-install timber economies, and, save in
old PIPO stands, is ecologically inappropriate. It is simply an effort
to “get out the cut” in a post-NWFP world. With all the $$ spent on
the parts of rural community economies which are dying, we could have
given $100 grand to all residents and retrained them for lasting jobs
in another locale, rather than giving them 6 months work now and again
and maintaining their rural poverty. We do them no favors with these
little projects. Note that the promo for collaboration celebrates
rural communities and indicates we need to save them. That is BS.
Rural populations are UP, not down – check the numbers! We do not need
to save rural life. My 2 cents worth — Tom
stumpsdontlie@googlegroups.com
Freudenberg. 1992. Addictive economies. Rural Sociology.pdf (1364 KB)
Posted via email from Deane’s posterous