Good Morning out there Middle America, as my old dad would say, “Jump up, jump out, the laziest birds are up and about.”
You can bet the politicians are up; they haven’t gone to bed from staying up all night conspiring against us. They sleep in the day time like vampires do. Gives me the creeps just thinking about it.
I know that I have a lot of readers in Michigan and Ohio, and today’s article is not meant to discourage you, but rather to add some clarity as to how I see industry panning out.
Hillary Clinton tells all the Midwesterners that she will bring the jobs back. I will say that she is closest to the problem, due to being married to the guy who took the jobs out. Mr. Bill put pen to paper on both NAFTA and the WTO and it’s been downhill every since.
I grew up in industry and farming, which coexisted nicely in Central Indiana. Muncie and Anderson were big auto manufacturing centers. Anderson at one time had 5 auto plants and was forced to stagger shifts in order not the grid lock the streets with traffic.
Anderson doesn’t need to worry about that any longer, all five plants are closed. In Muncie, you could drive past the Warner Gear parking lot for a mile. Today there are more cars at a little league game.
In my opinion, these plants are not coming back…ever. Ford, GM and Chrysler are in dire straits. While none are down the drain at this point, they are certainly circling that end of the tub. GM has offered all 74,000 remaining union workers a buyout. If the current losses continue, a buyout may not be necessary and can be replaced by a wake.
Detroit, Milwaukee, Chicago, Toledo, Cleveland, Albany…why are these cities there to begin with? The Great Lakes waterway is the answer. Once the Erie Canal (1825) and much later, the St. Lawrence Seaway (1959) was constructed, goods could move freely on the waterway from the Atlantic Ocean to as far west as Duluth.
Iron ore existed, steel mills were erected and industry that would propel America into the future grew to unprecedented levels.
Today the mills are closed, the auto plants are idle, unemployment is high, and home foreclosures rank as the highest in the nation.
Will these jobs really come back? One auto worker in Ohio asked Mrs. Clinton how she was going to bring the jobs back? I’ll paraphrase this, Mrs. Clinton answered, “I don’t have the foggiest idea, but it has a nice ring to it for a campaign promise.”
I wish I could say that I believe the jobs will come back, but I can’t. What little new industry that is occurring, is locating in the south. Trains and interstate highways have replaced the Erie Canal and climate alone would dictate the south as a better choice from a cost and operations standpoint. Having a 12 month no freeze, no snow zone and not having to heat an auto plant is huge.
Both Detroit and Cleveland presently have populations that represent approximately 50% of their former highs. I hope that those political candidates that promise new jobs and a new day in these cities, come through with the goods, but I don’t think so.
The passage of NAFTA and the WTO spelled the end of large scale American industry. We have been pitted against workers who earn less than $.50 per hour. Our leaders made a deal with the devil and Middle America was included in the bargain.
