But a funny thing happens when people like me try to point
that out: we get enraged responses from economists who feel an affinity for the working people of the afflicted regions – responses that assume that trying to do the numbers must reflect contempt for regional cultures, or something.
The point was precisely that Appalachia is a byword for regional decline, which makes it striking
that East Germany, which has received the kind of aid Appalachia can only dream of, is suffering an even faster demographic decline.
For example, massive aid to the former East Germany hasn’t prevented a large decline in
population, much bigger than the population decline in Appalachia over the same period.
The Economics of Regional Self-Esteem -
Donald Trump won the electoral college at least in part by promising to bring
coal jobs back to Appalachia and manufacturing jobs back to the Rust Belt.
As someone who is generally a supporter of government activism, I’d actually like to be convinced
that a judicious program of subsidies, relocating government departments, whatever, really can sustain communities whose traditional industry has eroded.
Apparently even suggesting that the decline in some kinds of traditional employment can’t be reversed, and
that sustaining regional economies can be hard, is a demonstration of elitist contempt for regular people.