Today's week two of the Law In Rural America seminar, and we're discussing the challenges and scope of rural #LocalGovernment. #RuralLaw 1/
Up first, we’re reading a chapter of Lane Lancaster’s Government in Rural America (2d ed. 1952). He predicted that "[i]n another generation it is quite probable that there will be no distinctive subject matter for a book on rural government." (Yikes!) 2/ 
(Do other law faculty out there know of other textbooks/casebooks that focus specifically on rural law? Maybe @RichSchragger or @lisareneepruitt?) 3/
Then we’re reading @MWildeAnderson's “The Western, Rural Rustbelt: Learning From Local Fiscal Crisis in Oregon” (papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…). It’s a classic, and useful for understanding the challenges resulting from rural poverty and low tax bases. 4/
We’ll be asking q’s like, What are the minimum services a community deserves? Should we (as a state or country) subsidize the survival of those rural communities that cannot financially sustain themselves because they have “existence value”? 5/
There’s also the issue of whether private service providers, including volunteer orgs + charities are good subs. for absent gov’t services. I'll be sharing my research on informal safety nets created by religious charities in rural Michigan in the 40s/50s. 6/end
@threadreaderapp unroll please.
