| > So the solution is train 50 million people and tell them to move to large cities? No, that's not a solution or what they need to be told to do, the move is just what is largely going to happen over time. Insofar as there as a policy solution, it's supporting the effected population through the transition, which, certainly includes funding retraining those who can benefit from that, assisting relocation, and assisting those who can't benefit from retraining. (While it's politically unlikely in the near term, UBI could address much of that with less friction and overhead than targeted programs.) > I would expect something better. I think getting the federal government into building things again instead of contracting it out would be a start, similar to FDR's works programs. Whether it's government jobs or contractor jobs makes no difference; FDRs works programs weren't significant because of that but instead because of the scale of the work. But those were to deal with a major business cycle downturn, not an effort to hold back the long-term rural→urban transition. Unless your works program is a permanent one building monuments to waste in rural areas, it’s beside the point of the problem you are trying to address |