Time to Reindustrialize America

The Ohio 6th Congressional District is a mish mosh of a political entity put together by frustrated politicians trying to eliminate Jim Traficant. Its northern border is Boardman, Canfield, and Poland in Mahoning County, and then sprawls 300 some odd miles down along the Ohio River up to and including Sciota County. Once out of Mahoning County, cities along the way include East Liverpool, Steubenville, Marietta, and Athens, Ohio…home of Ohio University.

It is stunning in its diversity, from the white collar suburbs of Youngstown, down along the heavily industrial Ohio River corridor bordering West Virginia and Kentucky making it an extension of Appalachia and its attendant poverty.

This is coal country. Coal is mined on both sides of the river and shipped down the Ohio. There is mile after mile of closed steel mills and pottery factories. It is a district that seems to include every modern day horror story of de-industrialization. It is literally a rust belt around the southeastern border of Ohio.

Every now and then a convergence of news stories comes together with a common theme, and the abomination that is “our” government’s policy becomes clear. An op-ed piece by Bill Clinton in Business Week Magazine a week ago talked about how progress can be made in solving Haiti’s economic and political problems. He talked about United States government policy initiatives that have allowed $428 million of Haitian goods into the United States duty free since mid 2008. He doesn’t say what those goods are, but my guess is textiles…manufactured in sweat shops with minor children working for $0.50/per day under a corrupt government.

Next I heard about built power plants along the Ohio River which cannot be brought on line because the emission from their stacks only clean up 97% of its pollutants instead of 100%, or coal mines that can’t be built because government policy regulations have been devised to purposely prevent new mines, and eventually close down the ones that are currently working. Barack Obama says he is for coal use…but as always, look at what he does, not what he says. His policies indicate he wants to subject coal usage to death by a thousand cuts. Watch how he will attempt to use the EPA to circumvent resistance in Congress to Cap and Trade. He will get what he wants one way or the other.

In the meantime, the people in the 6th District are left, literally, with their fingers up their ass. How can our government do this to us? It is OUR government. It is not the government of Copenhagen or global warming nut cases, or world income distribution. These policies, including the Clean Air Act, are products of our Congress. Congress put them there, and Congress can take them away.

In order for America to survive, we must re-industrialize. And the only way that can happen is with sane energy policies, sane environmental policies, and sane trade policies that don’t ship our jobs overseas to accomplish economic development in Haiti. You want to see poverty, come take a trip down along the Ohio River.

America…we must take care of ourselves first. Re-industrialization can occur if only we bring some sanity and common sense to “our” government…and take it back from the esoteric, internationalists and environmental boneheads that have been running it for the past 20 years…and especially the nut cakes that are running things now.

Enough is enough!!!!