The problem of rural America

Paul Krugman has a thoughtful piece in the NYT today regarding the impoverishment of rural America.  He lays out the issues facing large parts of the hinterlands and admits he has no idea of how to deal with them.  As a resident of far upstate New York, I see the population in a way Krugman probably can't.  He has lived all his life in the Acela corridor, named after the "high" speed Amtrak line which connects DC to Boston.  Even the area where I live is impacted positively by its proximity to Montreal.  Much of the industry and trade which makes life here a little less hardscrabble is provided by our Canadian neighbors who also fuel tourism.  In addition, we have an outpost of the State University of New York and a major regional hospital to fuel the local economy.   Still, life in this area is a struggle and drugs and the crime they engender is an all to familiar story to many residents of the North Country.  The pull of big cities is stronger than ever and many of the young people who graduate from local schools leave the area.  This creates and older and less hopeful population and leads to a  vicious cycle of depopulation.  Like Krugman, I have no idea of how to reverse the decline of our rural areas.  Neither do the candidates who are now criss crossing Iowa and New Hampshire in preparation for the quadrennial presidential sweepstakes.  Maybe they should at least address the concerns of the citizens whose votes they covet.