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Subscribe to Working-Class Perspectives - Working-Class Perspectives offers weekly commentaries on current issues related to working-class people and communities. Contributors discuss a variety of issues, from what class means to how it intersects with race and gender to how class is shaping American politics. We welcome relevant comments of 500 words or less.
For questions or comments about this blog, e-mail Sherry Linkon. For assistance with news stories about working-class politics and culture, call or e-mail John Russo, 330-207-8085. Categories
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Tag Archives: Youngstown
Why Trump Will Lose Ohio
It is always dangerous to publicly predict the outcome of a presidential election, especially in a purple state like Ohio. But I’ve done it twice, in 2011 and 2016, months in advance, when both of my predicted winners, Barack Obama … Continue reading
Posted in Contributors, Issues, John Russo, Working-Class Politics
Tagged 2020 election, economics and politics, Ohio, Youngstown
3 Comments
Deindustrialization as a Template for COVID-19
As we wrote in Steeltown USA: Work and Memory in Youngstown, Youngstown’s story is America’s story. That’s true now as we try to imagine American life after the pandemic. No doubt, coronavirus is a natural disaster that is more contagious, widespread, … Continue reading
Posted in Issues, John Russo, The Working Class and the Economy, Youngstown
Tagged COVID-19, Deindustrialization, economic crisis, Youngstown
1 Comment
Is the Fever Breaking? Ground Zero Youngstown
Two years ago, I described the Youngstown area as “crossover ground zero” for Donald Trump and the politics of resentment in working-class and rust belt communities. In local rallies during the 2016 campaign and since he took office, Trump has … Continue reading
Economic Nationalism and the Half-Life of Deindustrialization
In a 60 Minutes interview in September, Steven Bannon touted his form of economic nationalism and suggested that Democrats like Senator Sherrod Brown and U.S Representative Tim Ryan understood his economic vision, even if they didn’t agree with him. It … Continue reading
A Dispatch from the Poorest City in America
Back in November, the Brookings Institution reported that Youngstown has the highest rates of concentrated poverty of any city in the U.S. The report shocked some city officials and local boosters who had been promoting an exaggerated story of Youngstown’s … Continue reading
Debating Economic Development: Downtown versus the Neighborhood
Last week, the Center for Working-Class Studies distributed a commentary on how proponents of economic development and local government leaders were ignoring the continuing struggles of Youngstown’s neighborhoods. “A Renaissance for Whom? Youngstown and Its Neighborhoods” attempted to capture community … Continue reading
Jobs, Ideology, and Policy: Putting Workers First
During the 1980s recession, as steel mills closed and auto plants began downsizing around the country, neoconservative economists insisted that the jobs lost to deindustrialization would soon be replaced by new jobs. In Youngstown then, we knew better. And as … Continue reading
Politics is Personal: How Our Taxes Subsidize Walmart and Hurt Local Workers
We talk a lot about workers in this space— at the Center for Working-Class Studies and in our Working-Class Perspectives blog—but for the most part we do it on the macro level: massive job losses precipitated by NAFTA and other … Continue reading
Posted in Leo Jennings, The Working Class and the Economy, Youngstown
Tagged Liberty, tax abatement, Walmart, workers, Youngstown
7 Comments
Examining Literacy: A Class Approach
In the suburban community of Poland, Ohio, students at one elementary school participated in a “word parade” in observance of “Read Across America Day.” Dressed in clothing that conveyed the meanings of words, students learned new words through this event. … Continue reading
Reclaiming Youngstown’s Story
Two weeks ago, the Center for Working-Class Studies sponsored a panel discussion on reporting on Youngstown and the working class as part of our annual lecture series. The panel featured journalists from the Wall Street Journal, the Plain Dealer, and … Continue reading
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