Rural Americans see financial problems and health care as biggest issues facing them

National Public Radio today reported on a survey of 1300 rural residents' thinking about a number of issues.  The headline is "Drugs and Economy are Biggest Concerns in Rural America,"  and the lede follows:

Opioids and drug abuse and addiction, along with local jobs and the economy, are the top issues facing rural Americans, according to a new poll from NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. A majority of rural Americans believe outside help will be necessary to solve major community problems in the future, and many believe government will play an important role in solving these problems. 

"For many years, the opioid crisis was seen as affecting only a few states — West Virginia, Kentucky and New Hampshire among others. But it never was just about those states," says poll co-director Robert J. Blendon of Harvard. "It's now at the same level of a very serious economic plight that people are really worried about. It affects elections, and it affects how people elected from rural areas view their priorities." 

However, the poll also finds considerable optimism about community life in rural American – and a confidence that the next generation will have a better life than current and past generations.

Other themes from the poll include the brain drain, upward mobility, and the significance of community.