ITTA BENA, Miss. - Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell traveled Feb. 12 to Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU), a historically lack university in the Mississippi Delta, to deliver a message that the nation’s prosperity has not been felt in many rural areas across the nation. Many rural areas have been left out and need special support, he says, such as access to affordable credit to start small businesses and high-quality education to train workers. In addressing the current economy, the fed chairman stated that economic output remained solid, and he didn’t feel the possibility of an “elevated” recession in the near-term. He did note that unemployment is currently at 50-year low. Yet, “prosperity has not been felt as much” in many rural locations where 70 percent of the 473 counties in the nation that have been designated as having persistent levels of poverty were rural. Among the problems within the Mississippi Delta, Powell said, were the loss of jobs in agriculture and low-skilled manufacturing because of automation and the outsourcing of manufacturing jobs. Many rural communities also have limited access to education resources, quality childcare, and inadequate work training programs. Powell did not address the future course of interest rates or the Fed’s decision in January to announce that it planned to be “patient” in its future interest rate hikes. (Source: The AP 02/12/19)
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