The challenge of rural poverty
Plus: An opportunity for much-needed Obamacare reform; what Mamdani as mayor means for poor New Yorkers; and Mississippi shows a path toward education opportunity
The challenge of rural poverty: Rural poverty in America is deeper and more persistent than most Americans realize. Despite billions in federal spending, rural communities face higher poverty rates, weaker labor markets, lower educational attainment, and worsening family stability. FREOPP Senior Fellow Michael Tanner argues that rural America’s long-running economic upheaval—compounded by population decline, poor health outcomes, and dependence on vulnerable commodity industries—requires a comprehensive strategy that strengthens work, education, family formation, and community vitality. He calls for reforms across agriculture and farm policy, education, energy policy, health care, immigration, job creation and economic growth, and trade policy, emphasizing competition, innovation, and local agency. The key takeaway? Washington must shift from managing rural decline to enabling rural renewal—empowering families to build stable lives, resilient communities, and pathways out of poverty.
Curious what rural poverty means when it comes to the much-discussed federal SNAP program? Michael digs into the distribution of SNAP benefits—and the overlooked beneficiaries of the program—on FREOPP’s OppBlog.
Now is the moment to deregulate Obamacare: In the wake of the shutdown and renewed fights over Obamacare’s future, FREOPP Co-founder and Chairman Avik Roy has argued across multiple outlets—The Washington Post, Forbes, and National Review, to name a few—that Washington is missing the real problem: the law’s core regulations are driving costs so high that subsidies can no longer mask the damage. Premiums have nearly tripled and deductibles have more than doubled since 2014, leaving Americans with some of the least affordable coverage in the developed world. As subsidies balloon to keep up, Avik warns they are fueling inflation and creating an unsustainable burden on taxpayers. Instead of extending temporary patches, he calls for a bipartisan deal to deregulate Obamacare’s cost-driving rules and open the door to lower-cost insurance options. Without structural reform, Congress will keep spending more to deliver less, while working- and middle-class Americans pay the price.
Will Mamdani really help poor New Yorkers? Zohran Mamdani’s election as mayor of New York reflects genuine frustration among young and low-income residents. But FREOPP Senior Fellow Michael Tanner argues that many of Mamdani’s flagship proposals, from rent control to a $30 minimum wage, would backfire on the very New Yorkers he says he champions by worsening housing shortages, slowing transit improvements, driving up child-care costs, and eliminating low-wage jobs. He contends that a more effective path lies in free-market reforms that tackle high living costs, expand opportunity, and promote upward mobility. Unless leaders address these challenges with compassion and credible policy, Mamdani won’t be the last to ride the wave of voter discontent.
The “Mississippi Miracle” shows a path to expanding education opportunity: Mississippi’s remarkable rise from one of the nation’s lowest-performing states to a national leader in childhood literacy shows what’s possible when policymakers commit to evidence-based reading instruction and sustained, statewide leadership. FREOPP Senior Fellow Dan Lips explains how the “Mississippi Miracle” was built on a decade of disciplined reforms including phonics-based teaching, intensive teacher retraining, early childhood alignment, data-driven interventions, and an end to social promotion without support. The result: Mississippi’s economically disadvantaged fourth graders now post the highest reading scores in the nation. Dan urges any state that is serious about expanding education opportunity to view Mississippi as a model.
→ FREOPP celebrated Mississippi’s revival in childhood literacy by awarding Governor Tate Reeves the Frederick Douglass Award earlier this month at Freedom and Progress 2025.
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