The other 43 states always seem cut and dried.
Half of the swing states that carry the most votes were once known as the Steel Belt. It was the industrial heartland region of the United States.
The prosperity of these regions came from producing coal to smelt the iron ore reserves into steel which manufactured automobiles to weapons. It employed a massive work force of many, many thousands and was a major contributor to the American economy.
However, in the 1980s a gradual economic decline came about starting when manufacturing began going offshore. Cheaper steel from Germany and Japan was imported, labour costs increased, equipment was not modernised. Thousands lost their jobs, coal companies went broke, abandoned steel mills became a common sight as well as decaying cities and towns.
Today, population loss, coupled with the highest unemployment and poverty figures in the US, has become the battleground for the major political parties.
Donald Trump’s policy of making "America Great Again" seemed to resonate with the electorate as he promised to start digging up coal and iron ore again and to impose hefty import tariffs. Will it work? Who will want to invest in startup companies that have failed before?
Our strong wool industry has suffered similar stories. From 1950-66 wool was New Zealand’s largest export earner and our economy was nicknamed the wool economy.
The woollen mills in Dunedin, Mosgiel, Milton and Invercargill suffered the same fate as the Midwest steel mills when synthetics arrived on the scene. Today, crossbred wool’s GDP value slipped from number one to 24 and is only 1.4% of our total export earnings at $386 million.
Some country towns are showing the effect, too. Like most raw materials, wool is a price-taker and from there on it is subjected to a cost-plus basis from the shearer, the various processes and the retailer.
Despite promotion from King Charles’ Campaign for Wool to engage with consumers and establishing a Wool Ministry, and there have been others, but still no price gaining traction. Current prices will need to at least treble to be profitable and maintain production. It has been a long time since I have heard of a woolshed being built.
