Not every year can be like 2010, when the Daily Yonder 40, the stock index of rural America, rose by more than 30 percent. 2011 was nothing, not up, but down by only a smidgen. On to '12.

The economic impact of Social Security is huge: $1.2 trillion in economic output and 8.4 million jobs. Social Security plays an even larger role in the economy of rural America.

Rural counties have added over 128,000 jobs since October 2010 and the rate in rural America has been dropping since June.

The Social Security disability system began in 1957 as a way to help people too sick to work. By 2009 there was more than 9.6 million Americans counted as disabled. Rates of disability in rural America are 80 percent higher than in the cities.