Can A Little Cash Keep Young Iowans At Home?

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.

1 minute read

February 14, 2005, 10:00 AM PST

By Abhijeet Chavan @http://twitter.com/legalaidtech


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

Wednesday, February 9, 2005 in The New York Times

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