pmaitra
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You are right about all that, but remember what I said. The people don't care about statistics and Trump is using rhetoric. It is part of his pandering to his base.But who's to blame for this sorry state of affairs in towns like Pittsburgh? After 1970 foreign competition led to the collapse of the steel industry, with massive layoffs and mill closures. They embraced technological change more cautiously than larger firms.
Free market pressures exposed the U.S. steel industry's own internal problems, which included a now-outdated manufacturing base that had been over-expanded in the 1950s and 1960s, hostile management and labor relationships, the inflexibility of United Steelworkers regarding wage cuts and work-rule reforms, oligarchic management styles, and poor strategic planning by both unions and management.
But what of Pittsburgh today? Present-day Pittsburgh, with a diversified economy, a low cost of living, and a rich infrastructure for education and culture, has been ranked as one of the World's Most livable cities.
Tourism has recently boomed in Pittsburgh with nearly 3,000 new hotel rooms opening since 2004 and holding a consistently higher occupancy than in comparable cities. Meanwhile, Apple, Google, Uber, and Intel have joined the 1,600 technology firms choosing to operate out of Pittsburgh.
So what's all the fuss about? Why did Trump mention Pittsburgh as an excuse when it's alive and kicking?
On a related note, technology usually replaces workforce, so it is hard to maintain the same employment level percentage wise, given population is rising.