This seems like the standard shift seen in all industrialized countries. Rural areas and small towns don't have the density to maintain economic viability. Ther

This seems like the standard shift seen in all industrialized countries. Rural areas and small towns don't have the density to maintain economic viability. There just aren't enough labor-intensive jobs to keep small towns afloat. I would imagine the American development pattern makes the economics even less favorable. Cars are very expensive and most (all?) small towns are designed exclusively for car-dependency. Infrastructure cost scales with sprawl too, so city costs to maintain infra are presumably high per-capita. I'm not sure what the solution is. We could subsidize rural areas more (we already do quite significantly, but clearly the handouts aren't sufficient). But I think in the end we have to accept that times change, and certain lifestyles just aren't sustainable.