The Iowa legislature has proposed action to stem a 'brain drain' but any effective solution would have to address the economic and social effects of a shift to industrial agriculture two to three generations ago.
To stem a 'brain drain' second only to North Dakota's in the US, the Iowa legislature has considered exempting anyone under 30 from the state income tax. However "[t]here is not enough life in the small towns of Iowa to keep a young person, and there is no opportunity on the land. The state faces an excruciating paradox. It can foster economic development of a kind that devours farmland - the sort of thing that is happening around Des Moines. Or it can try to reimagine the nature of farming, with certain opposition from farmers themselves and without any help from the federal government, which has fostered industrial agriculture for decades."
Thanks to Eric Arzola
Read the full story: Keeping Iowa's Young Folks at Home After They've Seen Minnesota
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Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
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University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
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