The State and the Death of The Small Town

In 1800, only 5% of the American population lived in cities, yet by 2020 that proportion had flipped dramatically and now only 20% live outside of them. This is not a result of mere preference or expediency, but rather a long process of natural momentum accelerated by regulatory overreach. Vast increases in agricultural productivity and the expansion of industry placed far more opportunities in cities than before. The growth of power in the Federal and state government centralized resources and pushed local small businesses out of the market, leaving residents with no choice but to migrate. Cities receive far more amenities from the government while small towns must fight to even have their voices heard. Particularly in farming and finance, governmental favor towards large businesses is both strong and obvious, which leads to few employment options for those who can’t commute to a major city.

The number of farmers per acre of land drastically decreased after the beginning of the 1940s, but the number of farms per acre decreased at a far faster rate. Small-town banks and insurance agencies must bear similar loads of regulation as larger institutions, yet with far less resources. Larger businesses are far more effective at regulatory capture and thus they receive outsized benefits, making it almost impossible for smaller businesses to compete. Large farms receive access to much greater subsidies than family farms and are able to price others out and buy their land with only a minimal cost advantage from scale. Small banks, while the heart of many trust-based rural economies, are a nightmare for regulators as personal community relationships and more difficulty for personalized oversight present risks that undermine Federal control. While regulators love to rail against large businesses for the optics, their own regulatory requirements and desire for control empower larger businesses to drown their competitors. When smaller businesses are unable to compete, the lack of employers in small towns drives people to Metropolitan hubs.…