Now RUST once was the “HEARTLAND of American Industry,” “Focal point of United States Manufacturing”

Then came (or were there always) Narrow interests and Carelessness, Poor Planning and Off shoring replacing Effort and Innovation resulting in Disabling and Demise all round(?)

Callously and corruptively, U.S. policy makers have colluded with sinister influencers, partners and wannabe powers more and more deeply entrenched and shuttling in and out and around Federal Washington. 

They have carried on continuous pageantry—diversions, distractions, blame fests against any individual or entity “other than themselves” (any other person, place or thing including actual victims). 

They have turned America’s heart to RUST.

From the latter half of the twentieth century onward, the United States of America BETRAYED by its “leaders” saw closed then abandoned factories (vital workplaces).

Physical infrastructures (together with health, educational, welfare, social institutions) have failed or are in freefall leaving a blight on the land, causing outflow, brain drain, the hemorrhaging of populations (precursor to twenty-first century America’s on-the-street-under bridges-in-tunnels unable to flee homeless) in search of fruitful work, living wages, better chances, better living conditions—

(just as millions of migrants, under the constant onslaught of US policy makers and their partners’ rulemaking, orders and conduct of unspeakable global aggression—THEN ABANDONED—are forced to flee their homelands in search of fruitful work, living wages, better chances and better living conditions).

Public and Private Powers have colluded in the decimation of industry: failing to update and to incentivize updating industry, equipment, materials, employee training; failing to plan for the future, to innovate and incentivize substantive innovation. Instead, the partners chose narrow and short-termed interests (over the public good, America’s general welfare), laziness over effort. The public official-major media-owner company cabal practiced obfuscation and deregulation, exchange of payoffs and kickbacks; hoodwinking workers, begetting owner-worker battles stretching into the present day—CODE BLUE RED permanent breakdown. The patient is DOA. 

United States Presidents 42-46 NET WORTH

42. William Jefferson Blythe III (“Bill” “Clinton”) before, after presidency: $1.3 million -	$241.5 million
43. George Walker Bush before, after presidency: $20 million -	$40 million
44. Barack Hussein Obama Jr. before, after presidency: $1.3 million -	$70 million
45. Donald John Trump before, after presidency: $3 billion -	$2.3 billion
46. Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. before, during presidency: $8 million -	$10 million

Rich to RUST

Baltimore Pittsburgh Buffalo Cleveland Detroit 
Focal point of American industry lost

• Baltimore, Maryland once was “a Mecca” for metal and ship-building production

• Buffalo, New York State once was the world’s “largest grain port”

• Chicago, Illinois once was America’s great railroad hub: one of the country’s “largest railroad centers” and serving “as a base for the manufacture of freight and passenger railroad cars.”

• Cleveland, Ohio once was “home to Standard Oil Company” (dating back to the nineteenth century) and “a notable transportation hub”

• Detroit, Michigan once was the “center of the American automobile industry,” home of ‘Big Three’ automakers: Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler

• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania once was “a center for steel manufacturing” (also dating back to the nineteenth century)

Of the abandoned and betrayed poverty-stricken States of the United States of America, which ones are within the RUST BELT?

RUST Belt States

ILLINOIS	MISSOURI	7. PENNSYLVANIA
2.   INDIANA	NEW YORK	8. WEST VIRGINIA
MICHIGAN	OHIO	9. WISCONSIN

 RUST Belt States’ Poverty Rates

1.      Illinois	8.6 percent
2.      Indiana	11.1 percent
3.      Michigan	10.6 percent
4.      Missouri	10.0 percent
5.      New York	12.1 percent
6.      Ohio	12.5 percent
7.      Pennsylvania	9.7 percent
8.      West Virginia	14.0 percent
9.      Wisconsin	8.2 percent

117th U.S. Congress (RUST Belt-COVID 19 Era) 

RICHEST Members

1.         Sen. Rick Scott (Florida):                             $200,327,223

2.         Rep. Michael McCaul (Texas):                    $125,880,292

3.         Rep. Darrell Issa (California):                     $115,850,012

4.         Rep. Vern Buchanan (Florida):                   $113,384,088

5.         Sen. Dianne Feinstein (California):             $96,518,036

6.         Sen. Mark Warner (Virginia):                     $93,534,098

7.         Sen. Mitt Romney (Utah):                            $85,269,083

8.         Sen. Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut):    $85,231,232

9.         Rep. Trey Hollingsworth (Indiana):            $74,629,062

10.       Rep. Doris Matsui (California):                   $73,872,062

11.       Rep. Roger Williams (Texas):                      $67,438,045

12.       Rep. Peter Meijer (Michigan):                     $60,514,285

13.       Rep. Suzan DelBene (Washington):            $52,156,097

14.       Rep. Nancy Pelosi (California):                   $46,123,051

15.       Rep. Scott Peters (California):                     $39,738,062

16.       Rep. Jay Obernolte, (California):                $39,250,014

17.       Rep. David Trone (Maryland):                    $32,927,094

18.       Rep. Don Beyer (Virginia):                          $29,805,092

19.       Rep. Kathy Manning (North Carolina):     $27,202,287

20.       Rep. Kevin Hern (Oklahoma):                     $26,761,380

21.       Rep. Dean Phillips (Minnesota):                  $24,778,495

22.       Rep. Fred Upton (Michigan):                      $24,692,218

23.       Rep. John Rose (Tennessee):                       $23,362,065

24.       Rep. Sara Jacobs (California):                    $21,428,125

25.       Rep. Ralph Norman (South Carolina):       $20,679,156

  

USA Poverty Rates (RUST Belt States in red)

Rank       State       Percentage of Population

below Poverty Line

1	Louisiana	23.10  percent
2	Mississippi	22.10  percent
3	Arizona	21.20  percent
4	West Virginia	20.60  percent
5	Kentucky	20.00  percent
6	New Mexico	20.00  percent
7	District of Columbia	19.00  percent
8	Arkansas	18.40  percent
9	Alabama	17.80  percent
10	Tennessee	17.30  percent
11	Oklahoma	17.30  percent
12	North Carolina	17.10  percent
13	Nevada	17.00  percent
14	Georgia	16.80  percent
15	Florida	16.70  percent
16	South Carolina	16.50  percent
17	Texas	16.40  percent
18	California	15.80  percent
19	Ohio	15.60  percent
20	Michigan	14.80  percent
21	Maine	14.60  percent
22	Indiana	14.60  percent
23	Oregon	14.40  percent
24	New York	14.00  percent
25	Illinois	13.70  percent
26	Massachusetts	13.60  percent
27	South Dakota	12.80  percent
28	Pennsylvania	12.50  percent
29	Idaho	12.40  percent
30	Colorado	12.30  percent
31	Kansas	12.10  percent
32	Montana	12.00  percent
33	Washington	12.00  percent
34	Alaska	11.90  percent
35	Nebraska	11.80  percent
36	Rhode Island	11.30  percent
37	New Jersey	11.30  percent
38	Delaware	11.00  percent
39	Wisconsin	10.90  percent
40	Hawaii	10.80  percent
41	Missouri	10.40  percent
42	Iowa	10.30  percent
43	Virginia	10.20  percent
44	Utah	10.20  percent
45	Maryland	9.90  percent
46	Wyoming	9.70  percent
47	North Dakota	9.70  percent
48	Vermont	9.30  percent
49	Connecticut	8.60  percent
50	Minnesota	8.30  percent
51	New Hampshire	7.20  percent

Sources

• World Atlas “Rust Belt United States,” https://www.worldatlas.com/geography/rust-belt-united-states.html World Atlas “US Poverty Rate by State,” https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/us-poverty-rate-by-state.html

• Wikipedia “Rust Belt”

“‘Rust’ refers to the impact of deindustrialization, economic decline, population loss, and urban decay … attributable to the shrinking of the once-powerful industrial sector especially including steelmaking, automobile manufacturing, and coal mining.”

Hardest hit Cities and Regions: Northeast and Midwest regions including Buffalo, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Jersey City, Newark, Pittsburgh, Rochester, Toledo, Trenton, Youngstown; other areas of New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Upstate New York.

Though “New England was also hit hard by industrial decline …, cities closer to the East Coast (e.g., New York metropolitan, Greater Boston) … have been able to adapt by diversifying or transforming their economies to shift focus toward services, advanced manufacturing, and high-tech industries.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rust_Belt

• Investopedia “Rust Belt: Definition, Why It’s Called That, List of States,” James Chen updated November 29, 2022

“The COVID-19 pandemic hit the Rust Belt hardest.” Remaining factories were forced to close, gains manufacturing jobs were lost. Blue-collar workers were unable to “work from home.” Double crises of the pandemic and mental health declines hit “nine out of 13 cities studied in the Rust Belt.” https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/rust-belt.asp

• Business Insider “Meet the 25 wealthiest members of Congress,” Madison Hall and Angela Wang December 14, 2021, https://www.businessinsider.com/wealthiest-members-congress-house-senate-finances-2021-12

• The Inquisitr “How President Joe Biden's Net Worth Increased By $2 Million Being in the White House for 2 Years,” Juwairiya Shariq, https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/how-president-joe-biden-s-net-worth-increased-by-2-million-being-in-the-white-house-for-2-years/ar-AA1hCBfC

• Cheapism, “U.S. Presidents' Net Worth, Before and After Taking Office,” Andrew Lisa, February 17, 2023, https://blog.cheapism.com/what-presidents-are-worth/#slide=5

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