What Biden has done for rural America

Robert Leonard of Iowa published an essay in the New York Times yesterday titled, provocatively, "Biden Has Already Done More for Rural America Than Trump Ever Did."  The title provocative given that Trump garnered a lot of votes from rural folks and purported to care about rural people and places. But not only is it provocative, I have every reason to believe the headline and content are truthful.  Leonard, who has previously published op-eds in the Times, supplies the receipts.  Here are some key excerpts: 

In under two years in office, President Biden has done more for places like Guthrie County and other parts of rural America than Mr. Trump ever did. The rural economy is stronger, wages are higher and infrastructure projects are popping up all over.

Mr. Biden and his fellow Democrats are responsible for many of the improvements and for bringing back a sense of stability. For the midterms, they should run on these successes — the American Rescue Plan, the infrastructure bill. And they should run on why they have worked: Democrats should run on Democratic values.

Here in Marion County, where I live, some modest investments will make a big difference, like partial funding of a new shop for road equipment, which will extend the life of expensive equipment by sheltering it from rain and snow, or the repairs and upgrades at the law enforcement and public health centers and at the courthouse.

Last week, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and Representative Axne noted that $5 billion from the infrastructure bill will reach Iowa and is targeted to help rural areas. The infrastructure bill is so obviously beneficial to the communities that even Republicans who voted against it are taking credit.

The piece is chock full of facts, comparing, for example, the Trump administration's Farmers to Families Food Box Program to SNAP (previously known as food stamps).  

Earlier New York Times essays by Leonard are here (from November 2020); here (from February 2020) and here (January 2016).   

My own co-authored essay from January 2021 about what Biden should do for rural America is here.