I think that Mike Lofgren is onto something in his post at Washington Monthly on the detrimental effects of federal policy on the American Midwest:
Statehouses all over the Midwest have been taken over by legislators so stultified by the dominant atmosphere of social regression that they are incapable of thinking of any aspect of public policy aside from abortion restrictions. The Missouri legislature seems to have nothing better to do than dream up dozens of ever-weirder abortion laws. This from the state that sired Harry Truman, Thomas Hart Benton, and T.S. Eliot.
What has happened to the Midwest has been replicated in the regions of other developed countries with declining industries. The fading ore and steel-producing regions of northeastern France opted for the National Front in recent elections. The old industrial north of England, weakening since the shipbuilding and textile crash of the 1920s, chose UKIP and Brexit. The worn-out industrial and coal-mining region of Silesia in Poland hopes for improvement from the proto-fascist Law and Justice Party.
And that is the principal flaw of Lauck’s thesis. The topics that Lauck writes about—the cultural and intellectual trends of a region—must at some basic level be influenced by the industrial or commercial changes in the society that gave rise to those trends. That perspective is absent in Lauck’s book. A book about the decline of the Midwest in the 20th century should have given more reference to the epic industrial collapse and political transformation that has taken place. Along with these misfortunes, massive changes in the federal regulatory structure over the last several decades have severely handicapped the region’s competitiveness with the coastal centers. All these adverse trends have resulted in the almost surreal physical aspect of post-industrial Detroit, Youngstown, Gary, and other cities. They resemble the bombed-out wastelands of defeated Germany in 1945.
While I agree that policy has had a big and largely detrimental impact on the MidWest, I think he’s pointing his finger at the wrong culprits. Highway building provides subsidies disproportionately to the West. The managed trade agreements we’ve negotiated under the rubric of “free trade” over the period of the last couple of decades have disproportionately subsidized the Northeast and the West and hurt the Midwest. Look at the distribution of military bases. Base closure has hurt the Midwest much more than the West and the Southeast. The list goes on almost endlessly.
From where I sit you have certainly hit a set of issues. In addition of course, regulatory burdens fall disproportionately on the icky industries that characterize the Midwest. And of course if you have no, or only bad, ideas you spend your time legislating the re-plumbing and re-signage of toilets. Productive endeavors that they are.
No decline here in Nebraska, but then we don’t elect Democrats who promise sweet nothings, and our state constitution requires a balanced budget. We always maintain a surplus.
I think that a lot of the fault lies with Midwesterners themselves. They just assumed those jobs would be there forever. I think they have reacted poorly to those jobs being lost. A lot of moaning, self pity and blaming others. They need to get off their butts and work.
Steve
I don’t like to criticize others. But a comment here seems pretty insensitive. Its stuff like this that literally gives you “Trump”.
If the jobs don’t exist — what are they supposed to be working on?
A lot of small operators here do metal fabrication. You get a loan, get a shop, an arc welder, iron railing, and build mower trailers, boat trailers, hog panels, gain experience and go on from there. Just an example.
CO- Insensitive? Compare that with what is said by conservatives about groups they don’t like. Look, that is where I grew up and where almost all of my family, which is huge, still lives. When I go back to visit it is just irritating sometimes to hear them ask “why doesn’t somebody do something?” Do something yourself would be a good start. If there aren’t jobs there then move. Go learn new skills. Open up new businesses. They all vote GOP, like most people in Indiana. I always want to explain to them that they should use the money they save from GOP tax cuts from their $35k salaries to start new businesses. Shouldn’t be a problem. (Of course I don’t since it would not go over well. However, it is depressing to hear so many people sounding like they have given up.)
Steve
Does someone else’s bad behavior excuse our own?
For the socio economic problems as systemic as in the Midwest, it cannot simply put on the moral failings of the individuals there.
I sympathize with the fact many people could improve their situation by simply moving, something I did myself. But it’s not an option for many / most people. And sadly to say, not enough areas of the country are thriving to absorb all the people who could benefit from moving.
Personally, I’d prefer to try to fix some of the policies that are hurting the Midwest like trade a try before doing “hard love”.