Economy is Rust Belt battleground

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. -- A few men sat around the Greyhound bus station the other day telling stories about the good times, when this was a bustling industrial city that attracted newcomers from as far away as Croatia. Nestled in the Allegheny Mountains, with its coal, steel, and railroads, the small city was once known as the "Cradle of the American Steel Industry."

We have no job creation here. We have nothing anymore in manufacturing," said George Haidar, 62, as he sat sipping coffee in the diner. "Johnstown is dead."

I've got a great idea....... let's all vote for a Democrat and raise taxes on the evil corporations so that we can "make" more jobs...

Lets get all the lawyers to sue those evil corporations and make them pay for bogus workers comp claims, and that'll make more jobs..... and lets get the unions to really clamp down on those evil corporations so that they can't fire lazy overpaid workers and then we'll really show them how to "make" jobs.

What a load, these "Rust Belt" states have made environmental, business regulations, workers compensation and the legal environment so hostile that guess what..... they left.

So now the parasites have only themselves to feed on.... let's sue McDonalds...then the major "burger flipping" jobs will leave......Now what is left, a Bus Station and diner are the only things left for the democrats and the other parasites as they feed the people when they leave the sewer they've created.

The only problem is that they infect the other states that they go to with their "government nipple-mouth" attitude wherever they go. You're starting to see the effects in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, Louisiana and even Texas.

Liberals and Democrats are like flies.... whatever they don't eat they s#$t on.

I work in Johnstown. This area has been losing jobs for nearly 2 decades now. We suffer from the same problem other depressed areas suffer from - Democrat rule. No new ideas, the only answer to the problem, of course, is raise taxes. There is no incentive for business to come here, the ruling class is inflexible. There is talk right now of a company here looking at possibly being sourced to make see-around-the-corner guns for the military (curtesy of Rep. John Murtha). Another company interested in making windmills for energy also has been looking around here (400 new jobs mentioned). So far, I have heard nothing of incentives offered by our Democratic leaders, but I honestly have been very busy in the last two days and haven't heard much local news.

Uh excuse me Mr. Haidar, but I surmise you're an ex-steelworker. As such, I suggest you take your problem to your UNION rep! Because it's YOUR OWN FAULT numb-nutz.

Back in the 'good ole days' you had NO problem with twelve paid holidays, ten sick days and THIRTEEN WEEKS of vacation each year did you, huh you jerk! I won't even go into the base wages or overtime, sheesh.

So again, take your problem to the United Steelworkers of America, a-hole!

There are some issues that this article didn't address. Although Pennsylvania made more steel than any country in the world in WWII, US Steel didn't invest any money into improving their plants. They were producing steel in 1950 pretty much the same way they were in 1939. The rolling mills and the open hearth furnaces and other equipment were not upgraded.

Another factor was the tax policy of the local municipalities. I recall Allegheny County (where Pittsburgh is located) passed a "machinery tax". The steel companies were taxed on each piece of equipment that they owned. Draconian predictions were made when the tax was passed. And lo and behold, bad things happened. For all I know, it is still in effect.

Then the was foreign competition. As I recall, Austria developed a new process for making steel which was very efficient. Of course Austria had entirely new steel plants because their old ones had been smashed to rubble by B-17s and other US planes. US Steel had to compete with old equipment and the existing tax structure.

Of course the other factor was the Unions. I don't recall if it was the AFL-CIO then or only the CIO. The unions grew in response to the labor practices used by the large steel companies. Once the unions gained traction, then the balance of power gradually shifted from management to the unions. Effective power in the hands of the unions tended to lower the efficiency of the industry.

All these factors lead to the conditions which we see today. At one time the steel mill in Homestead, PA was over a mile long. It was quite a sight to see the shift change.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.