TOLEDO, Ohio., Feb. 24, 2008
In Ohio, Promises Of Change Ring Hollow
Washington Post: Candidates Face A Scarred Economic Landscape In A State With Thousands Of Jobs Lost
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Presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., poses with workers during a tour of the RMI Titanium Company in Youngstown, Ohio, Feb. 18, 2008. At nearly every campaign stop in Ohio, manufacturing is on the minds of many, in a state where thousands of jobs have been lost. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
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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.
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.
By Michael A. Fletcher
© 2008 The Washington Post Company
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Add a Comment See all 574 Comments
- I checked on this CBS politic site and all I see is Clinton & Obama. Talk about being biased!!! There are Replubicans running too in case you have forgotten. Ohio is not totally Democratic!!
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- Go, Obama!
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- Yes, we can, with Obama.
Posted by tibu987 at 06:04 PM : Feb 25, 2008
No we can''t! But people will being saying yes we can to have higher taxes when Obama is elected!! Another George Bush in the makings!!! - Reply to this comment
- If Ohio or Texas feel that Obama''s promise of change rings hollow, they can vote for Hillary or McCain, as there will be no changes under either of them.
I am voting for change.
Yes, we can, with Obama.
Obama, Clinton, McCain, CBS News O/L, 02/24/08
This election has some really interesting possible scenarios.
If McCain were to win, things would remain the same and Bush''''s policies continued.
If Clinton were to win, ditto.
If Obama were to win, tough, really tough job ahead,
but gives us hope and international esteem, something we have not had in many, many years.
I''''ll stick with Obama.
I am a 72 year old white male, veteran, who has seen this country going downhill, domestically and internationally, for 40 years and, I believe change is in order, not matter how difficult it may be to accomplish.
I feel that we must send a message to Washington that we are not satisfied with the status quo and want changes made in Washington and in our foreign affairs. - Reply to this comment
- he truth is, the NAFTA Agreement was signed by Bill Clinton on Sept. 14 1993.
Sen. Clinton has always touted her 35years of experience and this includes her years in the White House. This is Hillary Clinton%u2019s voting record on the NAFTA issue.
1) She voted yes to free trade agreement with Oman, Ref. United States - Oman Free Trade Agreement: Bill S.3569: Vote number 2006-190 on June 29, 2006.
2) She voted yes on establishing Free Trade Agreement between US and Singapore. Ref.: US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act. Bill S.1417/HR 2739: Vote number 2003-318 on Jul. 31 2003.
3) She voted yes on establishing Free Trade between the US and Chile. Ref. US-Chile Free Trade Agreement Implementation. Act. Bill S. 1416/HR 2738. Vote number 2003-319 on July 31 2003.
4) Voted yes on granting normal trade relations status to Vietnam. Ref: Bill HJRES51: Vote number 2001-291 on October 3, 2001.
5)She also voted for open trade with China, despite China''''s substantial human rights violations and evidence to show that NAFTA has caused the loss of millions of US jobs to non-industrial countries and hasn''''t delivered on the promise of widespread prosperity.
(taken from huffington post blog) - Reply to this comment
- Now let''s look at Hillary Clinton''s rhetoric and what is says about the campaign she''s run. It started with her absurd claim that her vote for the war was really a vote to send inspectors back in. The name of the bill? "The Joint Resolution To Authorize The Use Of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq." Saying it was about sending inspectors back in doesn''t mean that it is true that it was about sending inspectors back in.
And then how about the endless spinning trying to diminish Obama victory after Obama victory? Here was Penn: "Could we possibly have a nominee who hasn''t won any of the significant states -- outside of Illinois? That raises some serious questions about Sen. Obama." Mark Penn calling Virginia, Georgia, Missouri, and Colorado, among others, not "significant" does not make them insignificant.
Or Clinton''s "35 years of experience." She has had a distinguished record of public service, but it''s not in any way 35 years of government experience, unless you want to include her time at Yale Law school, or going door to door for George McGovern in Texas, or working at the Rose law firm in Arkansas as government experience. But her campaign seemed convinced that by repeating "35 years of experience" at every stop she would magically acquire that 35 years of experience.
from huffington post - Reply to this comment
- Barack Hussein Obama is an American, born in the state of Hawaii in 1961. Back when he was named, Saddam Hussein was some unknown young Muslim twit. People are really reaching for ways to bash Barack. As for his use of illegal drugs, how many of us who came of age in the late 60''s and 70''s DIDN''T experiment with illegal drugs? I quit 35 years ago. This chapter in my life does not invalidate me as a human being. Bush was a friggin'' drunk, too. He''d probably have done a better job in the White House if he''d kept drinking!
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- If they really want to help people out, I think they should do what they did years ago. And that is to roll back rent for houseing and freeze it.
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- Globalization=Americans out of work. Tell me again how this is a good thing? I know how the people in China benefit but what does it do for Americans.
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- Clinton and Obama favor a North American Union. Both are knee deep in NAFTA. The union leaders are *** over their members by endorsing these Democratic candidates that sell out the American people.
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Author Thomas Friedman on Obama's Afghanistan plan and the war on terror.
