Kneecapping the Middle Class

• In 1991, there were 17.1 million manufacturing jobs in the U.S.,
• In 1991, Bill Clinton granted most favored nation trade status to China.
• In 1994, NAFTA went into effect resulting in an estimated one million U.S. jobs lost.
• In 2001, China is admitted to the World Trade Organization which results in 3.2 million lost U.S. jobs–most of them in manufacturing.
• A quick estimate indicates that at least 4.2 million jobs have been lost–most of them manufacturing.  That figure represents 25% of all 1991 manufacturing jobs–an astonishing statistic, and likely conservative.
• Finally, the Washington Post reports that the mortality rate of middle aged, high-school educated white men has dramatically increased starting in about 1999.

It appears that middle-aged white men without college degrees have been killing themselves with alcohol, drugs or directly through suicide.  The Washington Post article quotes one of the authors of the study: “Half a million people are dead who should not be dead.”

When manufacturing jobs here in the U.S. are decimated, the people in those jobs are also decimated.  We men can handle a lot…but if we lose our work and our opportunities, the results can be catastrophic.  Long term unemployment is disastrous for men who define themselves by their work.  The result for many: addiction and depression.

Another victim of these job losses is the U.S. middle class.  The robust manufacturing sector of the U.S. allowed millions of Americans to join the middle class despite not having a college degree.  When these opportunities go away, those same Americans get pushed back out of the middle class.

Make no mistake, these men are not weak, immoral or lazy.  Take away my opportunities, my job and my future and you will have a hot mess on your hands.

As awful as this has been over the past twenty years, what really galls me is that much of this was set in motion by our ‘I feel your pain’ president: Bill Clinton.

That’s the story of the middle class in the past twenty years. Sadly, it’s just the beginning of this particular story.  Finally, the story of the poor in the U.S. is even worse.

• Learn more about suicide and the signs of suicide.
• If you are considering harming yourself, or if you suspect someone you know may be considering harming themselves, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline now:  800-273-8255

Posted in: US Economy | Tags: china, middle class