President hopefuls focus on rural woes
No one needs to tell Virginia Townsend that life in rural South Carolina isn't all fun and front-porch friendliness. A retired teacher who grew up in the Orangeburg County town of Holly Hill, Townsend sees residents struggle in a variety of ways: limited access to health care for strokes and heart attacks, poor children who struggle in school and adults who face long commutes to work - if they can find a job.
"As a schoolteacher, I saw deficiencies," Townsend said. "And now that I'm retired, I still see deficiencies. I just think we can bring about change."
Change is the mantra of those who want to be president and will be spending an increasing amount of time in the Palmetto State, home to important Democratic and Republican primaries early next year.
Change is desperately needed in rural communities, policy experts and residents say. Indeed, rural areas in South Carolina have long fared much worse than urban areas in terms of health, poverty and employment.
The S.C. Office of Research and Statistics defines rural counties as those where the largest town has fewer than 25,000 residents. In South Carolina, 31 of 46 counties meet that description.
According to figures compiled by the Office of Research and Statistics, the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, life in rural counties can be tough:
Rural residents are 54 percent more likely to be hospitalized for clogged arteries.
48 percent of rural residents who are hospitalized are taken to facilities outside of the county where they live.
The percentage of rural residents in poverty ranges from 12.7 percent in Oconee County to 32.1 percent in Allendale County. In 12 of the 31 rural S.C. counties, the percentage of residents who live in poverty is at least 20 percent. None of the 15 urban counties have poverty rates that high.
In February, unemployment statewide was 6.1 percent. In rural counties, it ranged from 5.6 percent in Jasper County to 13.6 percent in Marion County. In 17 rural counties, the jobless rate was 9 percent. No urban county had an unemployment rate that high.
