There are now more Dollar Generals in the US than there are McDonald's.
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There are now more Dollar Generals in the US than there are McDonald's. My folks live in Dollar General country in PA and frankly these parts of the country have just suffered for decades from disinvestment.
Cue "giant sucking sound*" quote.
Really a restaurant, even fast food is now a little aspirational. It was bad in the 90s worse in the 00s and even worse now.
But, is this just nostalgia for a past that never existed? I'd argue it's not.
*This is how Ross Perot described globalization
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There are now more Dollar Generals in the US than there are McDonald's. My folks live in Dollar General country in PA and frankly these parts of the country have just suffered for decades from disinvestment.
Cue "giant sucking sound*" quote.
Really a restaurant, even fast food is now a little aspirational. It was bad in the 90s worse in the 00s and even worse now.
But, is this just nostalgia for a past that never existed? I'd argue it's not.
*This is how Ross Perot described globalization
In the 50s and 60s manufacturing exploded in the US. From processed raw materials like steel to cars and appliances the US simply made a lot of stuff. And this meant a lot of jobs that only required a high school education. But, you could still go home knowing you made 300 radios.
These jobs unionized and American labor unions became rather powerful. (For unions in the US) many of these jobs have pensions that still exist to this day.
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In the 50s and 60s manufacturing exploded in the US. From processed raw materials like steel to cars and appliances the US simply made a lot of stuff. And this meant a lot of jobs that only required a high school education. But, you could still go home knowing you made 300 radios.
These jobs unionized and American labor unions became rather powerful. (For unions in the US) many of these jobs have pensions that still exist to this day.
US steel pays many pensions and without them the last wisps of the rural PA economy would probably vanish.
The kind of people who own and run companies realized that they could make a lot more money if they didn't have to deal with unions or ever pay pensions.
This was the incentive for "globalization" or the process of gutting and exporting nearly all of US manufacturing.
"We don't make things anymore" well this is why.
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US steel pays many pensions and without them the last wisps of the rural PA economy would probably vanish.
The kind of people who own and run companies realized that they could make a lot more money if they didn't have to deal with unions or ever pay pensions.
This was the incentive for "globalization" or the process of gutting and exporting nearly all of US manufacturing.
"We don't make things anymore" well this is why.
The conservative telling of this economic story says that "unions got too greedy" but it's not like these companies couldn't be profitable using union labor. They could. It's just why would you let so much of your profit go back to employees who only have a high school education and who you might bamboozle into voting to have the economy that served them well dismantled.
This is why people like Ross Perot and later Trump are very popular in "Dollar General" country.
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US steel pays many pensions and without them the last wisps of the rural PA economy would probably vanish.
The kind of people who own and run companies realized that they could make a lot more money if they didn't have to deal with unions or ever pay pensions.
This was the incentive for "globalization" or the process of gutting and exporting nearly all of US manufacturing.
"We don't make things anymore" well this is why.
@futurebird One of the things that terrifies me about the offshoring of manufacture and etc. aside from the supply chain vulnerabilities is that it just funds domestic inflation; particularly true outside of the US. It's not a popular opinion right now because of trump policies, but running a trade deficit just fuels inflation if the only place your currency can be spent is at home - ultimately all the money that leaves your country comes back as asset purchases competiting with the locals.
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The conservative telling of this economic story says that "unions got too greedy" but it's not like these companies couldn't be profitable using union labor. They could. It's just why would you let so much of your profit go back to employees who only have a high school education and who you might bamboozle into voting to have the economy that served them well dismantled.
This is why people like Ross Perot and later Trump are very popular in "Dollar General" country.
I've never understood why people think Trump could or would "bring back manufacturing" but he has that... aura. Or he used to have it.
War with Iran is a deal breaker. Not because it's a bad idea, or immoral, or ineffective, or not legal ... but because this kind of war represents "the giant sucking sound"
These are the kind of wars needed to continue the project of disinvestment in working class rural America.
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In the 50s and 60s manufacturing exploded in the US. From processed raw materials like steel to cars and appliances the US simply made a lot of stuff. And this meant a lot of jobs that only required a high school education. But, you could still go home knowing you made 300 radios.
These jobs unionized and American labor unions became rather powerful. (For unions in the US) many of these jobs have pensions that still exist to this day.
@futurebird that was the description of Silicon Valley work in the 50s to the late 80s electronics industry.
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@otte_homan @futurebird because the US made sure to export its god awful policies elsewhere
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US steel pays many pensions and without them the last wisps of the rural PA economy would probably vanish.
The kind of people who own and run companies realized that they could make a lot more money if they didn't have to deal with unions or ever pay pensions.
This was the incentive for "globalization" or the process of gutting and exporting nearly all of US manufacturing.
"We don't make things anymore" well this is why.
*sings*
I just wanna drive my fish
kiss my truck
ride my beer...me too, brother, me too
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I've never understood why people think Trump could or would "bring back manufacturing" but he has that... aura. Or he used to have it.
War with Iran is a deal breaker. Not because it's a bad idea, or immoral, or ineffective, or not legal ... but because this kind of war represents "the giant sucking sound"
These are the kind of wars needed to continue the project of disinvestment in working class rural America.
@futurebird
I voted for Perot in 1992. -
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