Basic housing is the thing that stands out most for me. I'm originally an American, and now live in a rural area in Europe. Rural parts of the more affluent Western European countries aren't advanced per se, but they're, I dunno, reasonably modern. Decent housing and decent internet access. The U.S. countryside is just incredibly backward in this weirdly visible way by comparison. Entire swaths of countryside, especially in the southern US, but not exclusively there, are full of a mix of trailer parks on the one hand, and questionably habitable shacks with missing wallboards and plastic-tarp roof patches on the other (parts of Louisiana are seriously shocking). And good luck getting broadband.

I used to live in Europe and have also lived in many parts of the US. Just trying to understand, since I didn't notice much visible difference other than wind power. I'm from a rural area in the US, and it was a great place. I haven't spent much time in rural areas of the south though.

Small and especially medium business is vaporized.

Textiles? Gone

Light industrial? Gone

Regional banks? Dying

Local banks? Dead

Small retail? Dead

Dairy agriculture? Dying

Family agriculture? Dead

I grew up in a small town. 20 operating farms circa 1990. 2 today. 3 agricultural/equipment dealers, today 0. 5 small/medium manufacturers... 1 today, because of a military contract. School enrollment? -25%.

I watched the beginning of decline when I was in high school. There is no anchor businesses that sustain local economies, and no access to capital. Without government spending, either indirect or direct transfer payments, a shockingly high number of US localities would be in a state of complete implosion.

This is an inevitable consequence of globalization and conglomeration (especially of agriculture).

It’s an inevitable consequence of our current economic policy.

Conglomerates are all about capital, not efficiency. We are paying more, not less, by eliminating market participants.