R
Raymond
Guest
In Ohio, Promises Of Change Ring Hollow
Washington Post: Candidates Face A Scarred Economic Landscape In A
State With Thousands Of Jobs Lost
Ohio has lost more than 200,000 manufacturing jobs since 2000.
| Page 1 of 2
TOLEDO, Ohio., Feb. 24, 2008
Washingtonpost.com) This story was written by Michael A. Fletcher.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Ford plant in nearby Maumee, where workers stamped out automobile
fenders and dash panels, will close this year. Johnson Controls, which
for years made seats for the iconic Jeeps that are assembled here,
recently lost that contract to a firm in India. And American Standard
is closing its century-old plumbing fixtures plant, eliminating the
remaining 165 manufacturing jobs that paid as much as $19 an hour.
It is a common story throughout Ohio, which has lost more than 200,000
manufacturing jobs since 2000. "Manufacturing is getting its head
handed to it around here," said Thomas J. Joseph, business manager of
Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 50, which covers northwest Ohio.
It is also a story the two Democratic presidential candidates are
promising to change. As Ohio's pivotal March 4 primary approaches,
Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton have each called for
significant infrastructure investment, development of alternative
energy and other "green-collar" jobs, while promising to toughen
environmental and labor standards that accompany free trade deals.
Those ideas are welcome here in heavily unionized and heavily
Democratic northwest Ohio, but at the same time, no one seems to
believe they go far enough to reverse the powerful tide of
globalization that many blame for the constant manufacturing job
losses.
"They identify with the situation, but they don't do anything about
it," said Rep. Marcy Kaptur, (D-Ohio), whose district includes Toledo.
"They are descriptive, not prescriptive. We want more detail and we
want it now."
This is the dilemma facing the Democratic candidates as they campaign
in Ohio's scarred economic landscape. The problems confronting places
like Toledo are so deep and complex that there may not be answers that
are both viable and popular.
Infrastructure investment could help stem the floodwaters that
regularly overwhelm riverbanks after heavy rains and rebuild Toledo's
rutted roads and provide more jobs. Developing alternative energy
meshes with the vision of local officials who tout the region as a
hotbed of renewable energy technology.
Both candidates said they would eliminate tax breaks for companies
that send jobs overseas and use the money for programs to help
displaced workers. Many here are up in arms about what they think is
an unfair trade and worldwide business environment. But short of
erecting trade barriers that many economists and business leaders say
would be self-defeating, no one seems to know what to do - including
Obama and Clinton.
"To get elected, you have to appeal to everybody. But it is hard to
say this makes a lot of sense. If you don't figure out how to engage
in the world's economy in today's world, you're kidding yourself,"
said Thomas E. Brady, president of Plastic Technologies, a suburban
Toledo firm that designs and oversees the manufacturing of containers
for such products as soda to laundry detergent. "The auto industry
simply can't afford to pay people $28 an hour plus benefits anymore."
Brady, a board member of the Regional Growth Partnership, a privately
funded economic development group in Toledo, said the prescription for
a secure economic future lies in innovative technology and education -
a view that Obama and Clinton endorse.
But the question is how to get there. The Toledo metropolitan area's
unemployment rate has dipped below 6 percent only once in the past 20
years, and is now 6.4 percent - 1.5 points above the national rate.
Median home prices here barely top $100,000, yet the city is in the
top 20 in the nation in number of foreclosures. Even a bright spot is
the result of a downside. One of the fastest-growing segments in the
local economy has been warehousing, where employment grew 40 percent
in the past year - but that is largely because of the conversion of
vacant factories into storage space.
Both the Clinton and Obama economic plans offer protections to these
struggling working-class voters. They would repeal tax cuts for upper-
income Americans, extend the cuts for the middle class and offer tax
credits to help families pay for college.
Especially important in Ohio, both Democrats have foreclosure relief
plans. Obama's offers $10 billion in bonds to help homeowners avoid
foreclosure. He also would give a tax credit to struggling homeowners
to cover 10 percent of the interest on their mortgages each year.
Clinton would temporarily freeze foreclosures and interest rates on
adjustable rate mortgages held by people with poor credit.
But for all the promises and proposals, Toledo's economic problems
have causes that the candidates have been unable to address.
"While you many be able to slow some things down, the long-term
interests of the region are going to have to be linked to developing a
competitive position in the global economy," said Daniel M. Johnson, a
University of Toledo professor of public policy and economic
development. "We've got both offense and defense to play here."
Advances in manufacturing technology have made it possible to produce
and export more products with fewer workers. Even firms that are doing
well, such as glass maker Libbey, are growing more rapidly abroad than
at home. While there is little chance that Libbey will leave Toledo,
there is also little chance it will expand here in the near future.
But the company recently opened a new plant in China.
Instant communication and cheaper shipping have made worldwide
business easier. Also, businesses are wary of locating here because of
the high cost of labor, which is an outgrowth of the strong union
presence. Manufacturing workers here earn an average of $68,000 a
year, according to Moody's Economy.com.
Continued
1 | 2
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008...main3869507.shtml?source=RSSattr=HOME_3869507
Washington Post: Candidates Face A Scarred Economic Landscape In A
State With Thousands Of Jobs Lost
Ohio has lost more than 200,000 manufacturing jobs since 2000.
| Page 1 of 2
TOLEDO, Ohio., Feb. 24, 2008
Washingtonpost.com) This story was written by Michael A. Fletcher.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Ford plant in nearby Maumee, where workers stamped out automobile
fenders and dash panels, will close this year. Johnson Controls, which
for years made seats for the iconic Jeeps that are assembled here,
recently lost that contract to a firm in India. And American Standard
is closing its century-old plumbing fixtures plant, eliminating the
remaining 165 manufacturing jobs that paid as much as $19 an hour.
It is a common story throughout Ohio, which has lost more than 200,000
manufacturing jobs since 2000. "Manufacturing is getting its head
handed to it around here," said Thomas J. Joseph, business manager of
Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 50, which covers northwest Ohio.
It is also a story the two Democratic presidential candidates are
promising to change. As Ohio's pivotal March 4 primary approaches,
Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton have each called for
significant infrastructure investment, development of alternative
energy and other "green-collar" jobs, while promising to toughen
environmental and labor standards that accompany free trade deals.
Those ideas are welcome here in heavily unionized and heavily
Democratic northwest Ohio, but at the same time, no one seems to
believe they go far enough to reverse the powerful tide of
globalization that many blame for the constant manufacturing job
losses.
"They identify with the situation, but they don't do anything about
it," said Rep. Marcy Kaptur, (D-Ohio), whose district includes Toledo.
"They are descriptive, not prescriptive. We want more detail and we
want it now."
This is the dilemma facing the Democratic candidates as they campaign
in Ohio's scarred economic landscape. The problems confronting places
like Toledo are so deep and complex that there may not be answers that
are both viable and popular.
Infrastructure investment could help stem the floodwaters that
regularly overwhelm riverbanks after heavy rains and rebuild Toledo's
rutted roads and provide more jobs. Developing alternative energy
meshes with the vision of local officials who tout the region as a
hotbed of renewable energy technology.
Both candidates said they would eliminate tax breaks for companies
that send jobs overseas and use the money for programs to help
displaced workers. Many here are up in arms about what they think is
an unfair trade and worldwide business environment. But short of
erecting trade barriers that many economists and business leaders say
would be self-defeating, no one seems to know what to do - including
Obama and Clinton.
"To get elected, you have to appeal to everybody. But it is hard to
say this makes a lot of sense. If you don't figure out how to engage
in the world's economy in today's world, you're kidding yourself,"
said Thomas E. Brady, president of Plastic Technologies, a suburban
Toledo firm that designs and oversees the manufacturing of containers
for such products as soda to laundry detergent. "The auto industry
simply can't afford to pay people $28 an hour plus benefits anymore."
Brady, a board member of the Regional Growth Partnership, a privately
funded economic development group in Toledo, said the prescription for
a secure economic future lies in innovative technology and education -
a view that Obama and Clinton endorse.
But the question is how to get there. The Toledo metropolitan area's
unemployment rate has dipped below 6 percent only once in the past 20
years, and is now 6.4 percent - 1.5 points above the national rate.
Median home prices here barely top $100,000, yet the city is in the
top 20 in the nation in number of foreclosures. Even a bright spot is
the result of a downside. One of the fastest-growing segments in the
local economy has been warehousing, where employment grew 40 percent
in the past year - but that is largely because of the conversion of
vacant factories into storage space.
Both the Clinton and Obama economic plans offer protections to these
struggling working-class voters. They would repeal tax cuts for upper-
income Americans, extend the cuts for the middle class and offer tax
credits to help families pay for college.
Especially important in Ohio, both Democrats have foreclosure relief
plans. Obama's offers $10 billion in bonds to help homeowners avoid
foreclosure. He also would give a tax credit to struggling homeowners
to cover 10 percent of the interest on their mortgages each year.
Clinton would temporarily freeze foreclosures and interest rates on
adjustable rate mortgages held by people with poor credit.
But for all the promises and proposals, Toledo's economic problems
have causes that the candidates have been unable to address.
"While you many be able to slow some things down, the long-term
interests of the region are going to have to be linked to developing a
competitive position in the global economy," said Daniel M. Johnson, a
University of Toledo professor of public policy and economic
development. "We've got both offense and defense to play here."
Advances in manufacturing technology have made it possible to produce
and export more products with fewer workers. Even firms that are doing
well, such as glass maker Libbey, are growing more rapidly abroad than
at home. While there is little chance that Libbey will leave Toledo,
there is also little chance it will expand here in the near future.
But the company recently opened a new plant in China.
Instant communication and cheaper shipping have made worldwide
business easier. Also, businesses are wary of locating here because of
the high cost of labor, which is an outgrowth of the strong union
presence. Manufacturing workers here earn an average of $68,000 a
year, according to Moody's Economy.com.
Continued
1 | 2
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008...main3869507.shtml?source=RSSattr=HOME_3869507