With all the indications that an economic recession is almost certainly on its way (if one hasn’t already arrived), many have overlooked the fact that large segments of society are still reeling from the recession of 2001-02, having never emerged into the kind of prosperity enjoyed by most white-collar American workers between 2003 and 2007. States like Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin (home to the largest number of manufacturing and automotive jobs) are in full-fledged recessions and have witnessed, among other things, skyrocketing rates of home foreclosures and a citizenry unable to keep up with the increases in oil prices that have affected the cost of everything from gas to bread to milk.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, poverty levels rose for four consecutive years between 2000 and 2004, plateauing in 2005 and 2006. Worse yet, the gap between the wealthiest and working-class Americans is at levels not seen since the Great Depression, a true indication of how disproportionately recent economic trends have favored certain groups over others.
Much of the decline in blue-collar jobs throughout the Midwest and other regions of the country can be attributed to large numbers of factories and coal mines closing unceremoniously, as well as to the introduction of big-box retailers like Wal-Mart and Target that have effectively driven out scores of small businesses.
The American auto industry has been in an extended period of decline for several years now, adversely affecting steel businesses and plant jobs, which have declined by the thousands. In parts of the country where these businesses once employed large numbers of workers, the poverty rate has jumped to record levels: in southeastern Ohio, a full one-third of families live below the poverty level, which, according to federal standards in 2006, meant a family of four living on less than $20,444 per year.
Of course, individuals and families have to make ends meet, which in the current system means taking on additional jobs, foregoing certain basics, and even relocating to parts of the country where work is more available. The collective financial and emotional stress has made families moving in with grandparents a common reality.
Sherri Joos of Wellston, Ohio, a community which has seen employers and jobs leave by the dozens, observes that “If you don’t work at Wal-Mart, the only job you can get around here is in fast food.”
All of which makes a solution all the more urgent. How the working poor will combat the coming recession without having recovered from an earlier one is something too few in power seem able (or even willing) to fathom. The recent stimulus package proposed by the President and approved by the House is something of a start, but with seven out of 10 Americans unconvinced that it will be enough to turn things around, a new round of negotiating would do itself many favors by including those that it forgot the last time.
