Crossword Genius

Simple rustics in America kept by state money (7,7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

country cousins

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'simple rustics' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I cannot tell whether this works.

'america kept by state money' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'america' could be 'us' (United States) and 'us' is found in the answer.
'state' could be 'country' (synonyms) and 'country' is present in the answer.
'money' could be 'coins' and 'coins' is found within the leftover letters.
No letters remain.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'in' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for country cousins that I've seen is " Unsophisticated types".)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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