The Cog in the Wheel
A
week-long series by a local paper concerning poverty has led me to
observe and re-iterate a few things.
1. The Rust Belt built its core foundation
on manufacturing.
2. The manufacturing era has been over
for some time.
3. People have not been able to grasp
the concept of line #2.
4. Consequently, many of the people lack the
tools necessary to be productive in this environment.
Boomtown
Years ago,
cheap labor was the solution to a factory owner’s success. Many of those people
were from Olive Hill, Kentucky and moved to Mansfield, Ohio. Working hard to be
a “cog in the wheel” meant receiving
a decent paycheck and retiring comfortably.
Performing a
repetitive task quickly and effectively was all that mattered. Increasing employee’s
pay and marketting to the massest permitted the factory owners to sell more
products resulting into expanding production facilities and increase in revenues.
Corporations
and unions maintained the status quo and continued to protect their own best
interest. Everyone profited for decades.
Greed
We bought
into all the marketing ideas to purchase stuff that wasn’t necessary. Employees
never realized they were being slowly duped by buying into the overall concept
of the manufacturing era.
We kept up
with the status quo going deeper in debt to appear rich. We lived beyond our
means mortgaging our future.
Greed
within- unions, employees, corporations and
government opened the doors to cheaper labor- overseas. Suddenly mass jobs
disappeared. Debt replaced our ability to live comfortably. The global economy slowly replaced the need of the local economy.
The global
recession, bailouts, and national debt deepened our concern for stability.
The Rust Belt Era
Mansfield, Ohio
suffers the same fate as any “rust belt
city”. Civic leaders failed to plan ahead and were unable to fill the void
with a new industry. Former factory workers continued to long for the “good old
days”. They’re gone!
We will never see a large factory open with
hundreds of jobs paying $100,000 a year with overtime in our lifetime. The
premise has always been about cheaper labor. Once your job is written down in a
manual someone else, somewhere else- will
do it cheaper.
Where do we go from here?
While
attending school is a viable option, many people with college degrees are
unable to find work in their chosen field.
 |
| Photo used courtesy of: Ralph Bijker. |
The trick in
today’s workplace environment is to find a void and fill it with a passion and
sincere desire to be successful. Merely being a “cog in the wheel” guarantees failure. Multiple skill sets will be
needed to standout and be unique. Discovering available options allows you to
“get in the game”.
Eliminating and avoiding debt is paramount for surviving and succeeding in the years ahead.
Being able to provide a service or a need
at a higher quality verses the mass produced goods from overseas is the best
option for success in this new economy!
The question
is- when will we as a community and individually decide to become a free agent and move past
yesteryear?
Only then-
will we begin to prosper again!
Until We Meet Again,
Jim Carver
Author: The Legacy of
David A. Wells-The Lexington High School “Band of Gold”
Something Meaningful that Matters!
www.successthroughmusic.com
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businesses that I strongly support. Photos used on this site are used courtesy of the original authors and
in no way endorse The Rust Belt Chronicles or my work. Thank you.
