Forget fixing NAFTA. Give rural Americans broadband internet and clean water

US negotiators will push for a series of protectionist measures at negotiations over the North American Free Trade Agreement the week of Feb 26. The Rust Belt needs a better connection to the rest of the world. To make it in the digital economy, the first step is to plug in. Nearly 40 percent of residents in the rural US remain without access to broadband. That includes many of the small towns whose economic bottom felt out when manufacturers left.  One major obstacle to getting those communities plugged in has been that federal funds often go to the big carriers, says Marty Newell, who coordinates rural broadband policy at the Center for Rural Strategies, which focuses on rural development. “The big guys, they are not that interested in the last folks at the head of the holler or the people who are farthest from the county seat,” he adds. “The profit is not nearly as lucrative there.” It’s still unclear whether the Trump administration will change that approach. His new infrastructure plan assigns no new money for broadband specifically, just a general pool of funds for rural projects.