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| Economy |
| Middle America Is Dying Hard |
| 2024-02-27 |
| [Hot Air] WEIRTON, West Virginia -- Most people in this town will tell you they'd rather have taken a physical punch to the gut than get the news they received yesterday when Cleveland-Cliffs Steel announced it was idling its tinplate production plant, a move that directly cost 900 people their jobs. It isn't just those workers who face catastrophic uncertainty; this closure also jeopardizes the jobs of thousands more people whose businesses supported the plant: the barber shops, gas stations, mom-and-pop grocery stores, the machine shops that make the widgets for the steel industry. And there's also the demise of the tax base, which affects the school district and the quality of the roads. Thirty years ago, more than 10,000 people worked here at Weirton Steel. Now, the last 900 workers left have just lost their jobs. "It's just another scar to add on what people in power have done to our lives and our community over the past 40 years," said one employee who declined to give his name, adding, "Honestly, how many times does this story have to be told before someone in power cares about our lives." |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #6 I worked for Nucor Steel for several years in the 90s. At the time steel production had moved out of the rust belt into rural areas. That was before everything manufactured had to be made in China. To me it looks like Cleveland-Cliffs is a company that will start up or shutdown on the margins of industrial production trends. Perhaps, they just need a dose of Trump economic growth. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2024-02-27 14:57 |
| #5 About the time cities such as Youngstown went belly-up, more or less. |
| Posted by: DooDahMan 2024-02-27 08:24 |
| #4 Try living and working in Dayton Ohio during the Jimmy Carter recession. 26% unemployment. |
| Posted by: Ebbuger Whuque4103 2024-02-27 08:21 |
| #3 Most good union households have been voting for the people who did this to them since labor became organized. |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2024-02-27 07:39 |
| #2 I love trains and train travel. Many years ago I took the AMTRAC from Manassas, VA to Atlanta. If you want to see the industrial 'Dying of Middle America' at 35mph, take the trip. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2024-02-27 07:28 |
| #1 Likely another victim of NAFTA. The DC Swamp long history deficit spending habits and resulting inflation, wage increases and 1000's of new taxes has made using US production and labor cost prohibitive. BTW: Regarding NAFTA. Remember 1 of the KEY items it was sold to the USA Citizens was it would stem the flow of Illegals, as it would provide employment in those countries. |
| Posted by: NN2N1 2024-02-27 07:02 |