in rural communities across America there's a sense of being forgotten and left behind politicians they're not paying attention to us they're out for themselves every one of them committee businesses moved out of this country and some jobs it's a woman of course there's nothing here and it's about time that the people stood up and said we've had it the Washington Post and Kaiser Family Foundation conducted a poll focusing on rural communities their lives and concerns this brings us to Ashtabula County Ohio an area that voted for President Obama twice then Trump won here by a
19 point margin who sat down with two groups of people Trump voters and non troppo donors to talk about the issues that matter most to them two-thirds of Americans in rural parts of the country say job opportunities are fair or poor in their communities thank you so much for coming everyone my name is Liz I'm going to be our moderator this evening what do you think makes this place different from other areas like big cities there's no jobs well there are jobs here but they're very minimum-wage jobs there is nothing that pays well around here
McDonald's you know Walmart you have Family Dollar General Dollar General you know all those little stores that pay minimum wage and really you need two or three minimum-wage jobs to successfully grow your family who or what do you think is most to blame for the economic problems around here well have we start at the top so the top you know the whole coal initiative to cleaner energy that you know that's what you just lost the railroad hurting the harbor power plants as well as our cold answer position well then you're like no inner powers they're
shut knows that the Perry's for sale don't we have don't we have Obama to blame for all that though I mean he's the one who created the war on coal extrude I mean but he's just one individual sure I'm just him yeah right all right part of the problem but he you have to blame the people that voted to do that as well exactly exactly right drug use was the second biggest issue facing rural communities I'm hearing a bit a lot about businesses going away or businesses declining are there other problems of living in a
community like this heroin yeah it is everywhere some of the girls that I work with have friends that oh this person I have to go to this channel I have to go to that funeral and you wonder think these people were doing that right yeah that's the one thing about heroin and drugs it doesn't discriminate against no anybody I worked with a gentleman he was on a lot of painkillers and everything he got dead by doing it and alcohol on top of it it's self-inflicted why should the taxpayers have to be taxed on this tip
sent him to rehab I understand what you're saying but but also you are probably just thinking of that stereotypical junkie I went to a drug rehab and it was because I was prescribed prescription sleeping pills from my doctor and I got so addicted to him I could not sleep without it and I went through a horrible withdraw at home and I checked I checked myself and because I had to get that out of my system and that was my doctor's fault that's why we have the problem with the opioids that we have now roughly 2
out of 5 Americans said that someone in their household had received government assistance in the past year growing up my mom was just her she was a single mom I mean we were on food stamps and when she was older she was on Social Security because she was unable to work so it makes sense that you know a lot of families are like mine you're benefiting from government help almost everybody here gets their $197 a month and food stamps and a medical card well there's no insulin at work because why we're you know why why
should I work yeah you know I'm glad you the phone or you know I get money it's so easy you know and even my husband and I have joked and said that what are we doing wrong like you said what are we doing wrong there's a lot of people that need it but can't get it because there are people that abused assistant people that don't need it get it so easily I have health care my husband has a job and we have health care through him but the deductibles are high I could be at work
and or you know or somebody that's getting welfare or in there they've got a cough all going the doctor I better be dead before I go to the doctor because I've got a paid for and I have insurance half of Americans living in rural area say that recent immigrants have somewhat or very different values 99% of Ashtabula County residents were born in the United States the medium household income is about $40,000 immigration is an issue that affects this community yes absolutely oh my gosh please don't work for five bucks an hour and and Americans won't
when they come over illegally and pregnant women come they have babies that babies born here it's American citizen it gets more benefits and rights than half of the Americans in this country who are unwell fair or who need help who are homeless or who are hungry are going to the food banks but they because their mom got across the border while she was pregnant they get everything that they're not entitled to very named illegal immigrant it's illegal to come in here this way but they're gonna you know just turn their head on it so we
ought to say we're not paying our taxes that's illegal what bothers me the most I think is with the schools when they start kindergarten okay incorporating my children they have to learn Spanish I don't agree with it I don't like it America's a melting pot it belongs no more to you than to me and like we've have discussed we aren't going to go and pick the grapes for five dollars now we're on our hands and our knees and I want a happy peaceful life for everybody and I feel sad for the people who have to
come here it's our fault it's our fault we let it happen well and if you come to America learn to speak American that's right don't we're not meted to your religion and your goals this is your category 54% of rural Americans approve of Donald Trump's job performance so far that's it infinitely higher than in suburban and urban areas has there been anything that President Trump has done that's worried or concerned you stop tweeting I wish we had stop tweeting you're you're the president United States you're a grown man just let it go and know your
facts don't make him up whenever he said that about Andrew Jackson um and this in the war and he was already dead is like know what you're talking about because you just make a Boyar so he did but that's okay it's okay because I still like him it seems like a joke Donald Trump the whole he's to me a joke this was kind of a joke a year and a half ago and then it stopped being funny after a while it's like what stupid thing is he gonna say tonight I've reported on the news and
after a while it stopped being funny and now it's serious he's the most unqualified man elected president in this century in the twentieth century even the only the only positive thing I've seen come out of it is It's Made Saturday Night Live a little bit better no really really it's that's the bed that's the best I've seen come out of it he's gonna put us in war on I fear for my kids let's just face it there is gonna be a war Wars absolutely absolutely anyway yeah it's just a matter of time but you know
what they're gonna say it's gonna be good for the economy that creates jobs so much garbage all the time you just get worn out [Music] roughly two-thirds of people in rural communities say that people in cities have different values so how do you think that that people who live in cities are different from people who live around here it seemed rushed yeah they don't have time to yes to stop and smell the roses go go go go yeah and a lot of them are just plain over rude well I remember just they're just rude you
know and they might keep to theirselves more you know maybe not as not as neighborly or friendly if you go downtown in a big city and ask somebody for the time of day ya hear they'll give you the time of day to the second and it's funny when we lived in the city I'd run into this store my husband be waiting in the car and I've run back out I run into the store now and I'm out in ten minutes he's like what took you so long I was talking with Myrna behind the counter we
had a conversation I'm always talking with somebody I run into somebody I know roughly three out of every five adults in rural America would encourage young people to leave their community for more opportunity elsewhere I would move out of pastor Beulah County I would if it was today that's what I would say because there's nothing here and I wouldn't say leave I think it just depends on the field you're going into there this stuff here but you got to want it if you're a white-collar employee that's not here that's not Ashtabula County but if you're
a blue-collar worker you get out and you you shovel shovel sidewalks you shovel business you can clean barns you do dishes whatever it takes those jobs are there nobody's gonna give it to you right right you had a while bust your ass right and you can make a dollar what if you do want it here and you're working and really trying to work for it we're here are you gonna do it there are very few good companies that you go work for and retire from here it's not like it used to be you
