Pages

19.11.08

Ignorant yet thinking

Waterbury, Ct plant

Interesting take in Massachusetts on the automobile bailout request in the Globe today.

It made me turn the clock back 30, 40 years ago and remember how the manufacturing industry slowly went from lighting up the skies in towns like Fall River to extinguished, dead zones on creeks, rivers and roads all across New England.

First the plants moved South, as in North Carolina, then they suffered disputes on labour issues, unions, and took themselves to the East and places like Taiwan, Formosa and Hong Kong.

How would New England look today if they had been bailed out? Would we see those warm pile lined coats and jackets selling with "made in USA" labels? Would the throttles be churning and burning up oil along the Connecticut?

How would Rhode Island look if the jewelry industry, Cross pens (yes, fountain pens) and other light industrial plants survived in Providence?

Ship building, clothing manufacturing, metal and steel working, and the list goes on all have nearly disappeared from view, from our consciousness, and shrank the blue colour workers in this country.

Is this the global economy? And if it is, what then?

No comments:

Post a Comment