I don't think GP's distinction between cities providing capital and rural areas providing food is really the line drawn by the article, or typically when compar

I don't think GP's distinction between cities providing capital and rural areas providing food is really the line drawn by the article, or typically when comparing regional inequality. For example, the article notes that CoL adjusted average income is greater in Beaumont, TX and Birmingham, AL than NYC and SF. Automation probably is what has caused farm unemployment, but trade policy can absolutely be blamed more for manufacturing unemployment in areas that aren't "big cities". The Syracuse or the Altoona metro areas aren't exactly farmland, but they definitely aren't NYC or SF, either.