Political Quotes

“Madam President, for generations, manufacturing was the lifeblood of communities across Ohio and throughout the country. It was heavily unionized, and the jobs paid well. It is not a coincidence that those two things go together. These jobs allowed generations of Americans to build a middle-class life. I walked the halls at Mansfield Senior High School and Johnny Appleseed Junior High School with the sons and daughters of steelworkers and ironworkers and carpenters and machinists and auto workers and electricians. Workers, the parents of kids in my school-- those workers--innovated on the shop floor. They propelled our economy to new heights. They allowed us to lead the world in developing new industries. But Ohioans know all too well what happened next. Beginning in the 1970s and the 1980s, we stopped making things in our country. Look at places like my hometown in Mansfield, OH. It is an industrial city of about 50,000 people, halfway between Cleveland and Columbus. Companies like Westinghouse, Tappan Stove, Ohio Brass, and General Motors closed down, one after another, after another. Go to any town in Ohio, and people can name a similar list. They will measure, oftentimes, their local history in lost plants and lost jobs. All over America, companies were moving production elsewhere in the name of efficiency. ``Efficiency'' was business speak for lower wages. Corporate America always wanted cheaper labor wherever they could find it.…”