Three Thoughts: Election’s Over, Time to Bury the Rust Belt Zombie Again

 

Relief.  The election is over. 

Ohioans got a taste of what things used to be like when Ohio was an election swing state.  It’s fair to say that taste was over the top sour. 

That sensation of being a swing state brought back some old vocabulary that should have stayed in the past. 

One of the phrases brought back from near death was the term “Rust Belt.”  National media types are particularly fond of that tired label. 

“Rust Belt” is an economic shackle wrongly placed on our state.  

It’s undeserved.  Manufacturing is roaring back.  Ohio’s economic output surpassed $1 trillion GDP this year.  The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association reports over $42 billion in capital investment commitments.  Thus, Ohio’s economy has changed, but the terminology has not. 

MediaCloud.org charted the national media use of the term.  Their data shows a decline.  The last huge spike was in 2016 during the presidential election, when Ohio was still considered a swing state. 

Smaller spikes appeared again in 2020 and 2024 presidential election years.  The midterm elections were barely a blip.  Until now? 

Media Cloud unearthed the worst offenders in this year’s election cycle.  Fortune, CNN, and the New York Post were among the top ten users of the term during this year’s election.  

I expected to see Fox News.  Host Jesse Watters would have made my list as I cringe every time he uses the term. I texted his show one time.  It didn’t work.  He still uses it.  A ton. 

Now that the election’s over, it’s time to work on burying the term.  Again. 

First Thought: Rust Belt term won’t die on its own

Back in 2017 when an upbeat report on the economic resurgence potential of the “New American Heartland” was unveiled at the Cleveland City Club, author Joel Kotkin said it best:  "The future of the Heartland rests with the Heartland." 

The industrial Heartland's combination of manufacturing prowess, energy, and human capital is the right formula for revival of middle America.  It’s been working. 

We Ohioans have a good story to tell.  We need to tell it.  

No rust here.  

Another Thought: Ohioans get reacquainted with Senator Brown

Sherrod Brown is back as Ohio’s U.S. Senator.  He’s one person who truly hates the Rust Belt term and has a track record to prove it. 

"Ohio has buried the term 'Rust Belt.' It's time for our whole country to bury it."  That’s Senator Brown in 2022 as part of testimony at the Senate Banking Committee.  

Known for his constituent work, here’s hoping he focuses on telling the upside story of his constituents to bury the term once more.  This time for good. 

Third Thought: Opportunity to change the narrative with Governor Acton

The election elevated Amy Acton to Governor come January 11, 2027.  With her Mahoning Valley roots, one can predict her personal disdain for the term too.  Her family worked in those steel mills Bruce Springsteen sings about. 

Here’s hoping she’ll bring an all-Ohio focus on industrial development and challenge the Rust Belt label with real outcomes.  Ohio’s manufacturing success story needs to be a central part of the state’s identity. 

Yes, the election is over, but the Rust Belt zombie has risen again.  

Together, let’s bury it.

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This column is a regular column in The Columbus Dispatch.

Three Thoughts: What Parking Lots and Crying Babies Tell Us About An Economy

My dad taught me his skill at finding the best local restaurants.  When our family traveled, he had a knack for finding out-of-the-way places to eat even though we’d never been there before.  He had measures that weren’t always obvious or stated, but they worked. 

I once put my skills to the test in Europe.  The best meal was at a second-floor restaurant in a small German village.  No English menu.  Ten tables.  Stares from the “you aren’t from these parts” regulars--but darn good food. 

I’ve applied those inherited skills to industrial development. 

There are conventional measures.  Population growth is the most obvious one.  Media reports the ups and downs of a local economy when the Census estimates come out.  

I like to watch GDP and employment numbers. 

It’s not always the statistics that tell the economic story.  We all look for evidence of prosperity without even knowing we are doing it.

First Thought: Counting cars as a way to measure economic impact

I look at parking lots in industrial parks to measure what’s going on.  A full parking lot is a measure of a substantial workforce and a successful business. 

If a manufacturer’s parking lot has cars late on a Friday, that’s a sign they’re busy.  

If there are newer cars in the lot on a second shift, that’s an extra measure of economic impact of that manufacturer. 

Another Thought: Sensing a community’s economic vitality in church

I can tell how well a community is doing when I go to church.  The number of families in the church are my indirect hints of a strong economy.  

Sadly, in some places I’ve traveled, it is glaring how few babies there are.  If I’m among the youngest at nearly 60 years old, I worry about the economic future of a community. 

My youngest daughter recently moved to a new city in Ohio.  She gave me a chance to put my indirect measures to the test. 

The neighborhood she picked to live in didn’t have the greatest reputation for safety when I was her age.  However, I was calmed as a father when I went to church in my daughter’s new neighborhood.  

I gladly sat in a pew among several large families.  Lots of babies. 

My confidence in the neighborhood’s economic vitality was gleaned from those crying babies.  

Third Thought: Small business activity is reassuring

I contend I’m not alone.  These indirect measures are what we all come to learn over time.  We instinctively form impressions and use them to make economic judgments. 

Small businesses are a sign of entrepreneurial activity and shape our impressions. 

The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association reports that over 60% of manufacturers are small ones, employing fewer than 20 people.  

This is where some big developers have missed the point.  

Large, windowless buildings don’t necessarily inspire confidence about the economy when there aren’t visible signs of jobs or activity. 

Give us an industrial park full of cars and a church full of crying babies any day.

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This column is a regular column in The Columbus Dispatch.

Three Thoughts: Lessons From All-Ohio's Paul Brown

 

This coming Saturday will mark the 137^th time football teams in Massillon and Canton will meet on the field.  When the youth meet on the field, there will be a remarkable percentage of the population of both cities in the stands cheering them on as has happened since 1894.  It’s a sports rivalry that may have no equal anywhere. 

One name is inseparable from that tradition: Paul Brown. 

Depending on where you live in Ohio, you may appreciate a different part of Paul Brown’s legacy.  

He was born in Norwalk, played and coached in Massillon, played at Miami University, and coached at Ohio State.  There’s a pro football team still named after him in Cleveland.  He founded the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals, which his family still owns.  

He was an all-Ohio guy. 

The Paul Brown story is analogous to the Ohio economic story.  

First Thought: Brown’s all-Ohio story is an economic one

That Massillon vs. Canton rivalry has roots beyond football.  Manufacturers, canals, and the railroads shaped both cities.  The economic rivalry predates the football field rivalry.   

Thanks to Paul Brown, football is a bigger part of the story of many places in Ohio.  

Brown’s contribution has interwoven football and economic growth.  Notably, the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton churns tourism dollars in Northeast Ohio.  Football’s impact is an economic impact beyond the Paul Brown’s playing and coaching stopovers in Oxford, Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. 

Another Thought: Known for innovation

Notably, what Paul Brown brought to football at high school, college, and professional levels was innovation.  

Brown’s innovations have become commonplace because they worked.  He established the use of a playbook, game films, and modern face masks that are regular features decades later.  He was ahead of his time on racial integration too. 

Ohioans have brought innovations in the business world.  Cash registers in Dayton.  Synthetic rubber in Akron.  Steam locomotives in Lima.  Giant crushing machines in Etna Township.  The list goes on and on. 

Ohio is synonymous with innovation. 

Third Thought: Brown showed how to prepare to win against tough competition

There are lessons from Paul Brown’s football legacy that apply to economic growth in Ohio.  

Massillon’s Washington High School boasts nearly 1,000 football wins, second in the country.  Miami University is the “Cradle of Coaches,” which includes Brown as well as L.A. Rams coach Sean McVay and N.Y. Giants coach John Harbaugh. 

The common thread?  Brown prepared his teams to win against tough competition.  His preparations carried forward. 

Ohio must prepare to compete too. It’s a state-to-state and international playing field where wins bring economic growth and jobs.  Preparation today brings needed jobs and growth in the future.

Winning takes more than a rallying speech from the proverbial coach. It takes sites ready for investment, infrastructure that supports growth, and people ready to go to work. 

When Ohio wins, we all win.

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This column is a regular column in The Columbus Dispatch.