I understand where they're coming from. I grew up in a union town. When you are in an economically stressed area, other issues go by the wayside. When you're in danger of becoming homeless, your kids can't get Christmas gifts or new school clothes, you don't have the luxury of voting against someone who says they can help vs climate change or illegal immigration.
He's right when he says the Democratic Party used to more strongly support the blue collar worker. They are now sort of left out in the cold by both parties. The Republicans sure don't care about them. The Democratic Party still represents them, but to a lesser extent. Maybe that's because there's fewer of them, now?
This established middle aged man who moved his elderly mother there is not in a good position to move for work. And he's likely not to have many good job offers at his age. But his sons could certainly move to a better work area, and maybe should.
The bad thing about living & working in an area that's overly dependent on a few industries, is that the entire area can quickly become decimated if something happens to those industries. There isn't an established field of non-related good work in the area, to take these workers on, when they're laid off. That is the fault of that city, in not diversifying.
They should first look to their state for solutions. The state can cut tax deals to lure new businesses there. Their local officials can do a few things. But Trump's policies have contributed to GM's cut of thousands of jobs.
Even now, one of the sons has still not written off Trump as a viable candidate. ???
Anyway, I feel sorry for them. I've seen these things first hand. (OTOH, I must say that when I was younger, I knew I could try and get a job at the local plants. But I decided I wouldn't event try. I didn't want to do that kind of work,and it wasn't smart, IMO, to get trapped in a dead-end job at a plant, because I wouldn't have been able to transfer that job experience to another job outside of that plant, if the plant laid me off. I left the area entirely, to a more diverse economy. Diversity is the key. After seeing the high unemployment and suffering during a recession, I made sure that I not only had an occupation that wasn't tied to one industry, but that I also had a second skill, so that I'd have more of a chance of getting work if I ever lost my job.)
= new reply since forum marked as read
