In what has become a post-election. tradition, there has been no shortage of analysis the past several weeks about rural voters and their role in determining the outcome of the midterms.
Yet during a visit to Shamokin, Pa., I asked a former mayor and the current one, both Republicans, whether differences between Republicans and Democrats were affecting local efforts to revive their town. They both agreed: not really. They don’t think about it.
This does not fit the conventional narrative about a former coal mining town of some 7,000, where nearly 70 percent voted for Donald Trump in 2020. The town’s decline was already bad enough 30 years ago to warrant a New York Times article with the headline “In a Gritty Town, Hope Outlives the Prosperity.”
The question then was whether the construction of a prison there would help. It didn’t. The town has lost almost 25 percent of its population since, and the poverty rate now hovers above 30 percent.
Shamokin is a cautionary tale for what […]
Again, what we have here is another example of the effects of aging, outdated kindsets that are prevailing in too many places. Not the programs being proposed. In this case, it’s about the locals in positions of power.
As I age, I only get smarter because I continue to read and take University courses even at the age of 75. I have a habit of telling people I have been 25 years old for 50 years now.
I wish I knew you were here in Pa. because I would have traveled to get to meet you in person. I would like to just shake your hand and say thank you for all you do for everyone who reads your website, and for the country as a whole.