Editing Rust Belt (section)

==History==
[[File:US Net International Investment Position.png|thumb|Deteriorating U.S. [[net international investment position]] (NIIP) has caused concern among economists over the effects of outsourcing and high U.S. [[Balance of trade|trade deficits]] over the long-run.<ref name=Bivens />]]
[[File:Cargill S Superior elevator.jpg|thumb|A disused [[grain elevator]] in [[Buffalo, New York]]]]
[[File:Fisher Body plant 21.jpg|thumb|An abandoned [[Fisher Body|Fisher auto body]] plant in [[Detroit]]]]
[[File:The disused Huber coal breaker in Ashley, Pennsylvania.jpg|thumb|The [[Huber Breaker]] in [[Ashley, Pennsylvania]], one of the largest [[anthracite]] [[coal breaker]]s in North America; opened in the 1930s and closed in the 1970s.]]
The linking of the former [[Northwest Territory]] with the once-rapidly industrializing East Coast was effected through several large-scale [[infrastructure|infrastructural projects]], most notably the [[Erie Canal]] in 1825, the [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]] in 1830, the [[Allegheny Portage Railroad]] in 1834, and the consolidation of the [[New York Central Railroad]] following the end of the [[American Civil War]] in 1875. A gate was opened between a variety of burgeoning industries on the interior [[North America]]n continent and the markets of large East Coast cities and [[Western Europe]].<ref name=Kunstler>{{cite book|last=Kunstler|first=James Howard|title=Home From Nowhere: Remaking Our Everyday World for the 21st Century|year=1996|publisher=Touchstone/Simon and Schuster|location=New York|isbn=978-0-684-83737-6}}</ref>

Coal, iron ore, and other raw materials were shipped in from surrounding regions which emerged as major ports on the Great Lakes and served as transportation hubs for the region with proximity to railroad lines. Coming in the other direction were millions of European immigrants, who populated the cities along the Great Lakes shores with then-unprecedented speed. Chicago was a rural trading post in the 1840s but grew to be as big as [[Paris]] by the time of the [[World's Columbian Exposition|1893 Columbian Exposition]].<ref name=" Kunstler" />

Early signs of the difficulty in the northern states were evident early in the 20th century before the "boom years" were even over. [[Lowell, Massachusetts]], once the center of textile production in the U.S., was described in the magazine ''[[Harper's Magazine|Harper's]]'' as a "depressed industrial desert" as early as 1931,<ref>{{cite news|last=Marion|first=Paul|title=Timeline of Lowell History From the 1600s to 2009|newspaper=Yankee Magazine|date=November 2009|url=http://www.yankeemagazine.com/article/features/lowell-timeline/2|access-date=December 27, 2015|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304113029/http://www.yankeemagazine.com/article/features/lowell-timeline/2|url-status=dead}}</ref> as its textile concerns were being uprooted and sent southward, primarily to the [[Carolinas]]. 

In the first half of the 20th century, the [[Great Depression]] followed by American entry into World War II was followed by a rapid return to economic growth, during which much of the industrial [[Northern United States|North]] reached its peak population and industrial output.

The northern cities experienced changes that followed the end of World War II, with the onset of the outward migration of residents to newer suburban communities,<ref>{{cite web|title=1990 Population and Maximum Decennial Census Population of Urban Places Ever Among the 100 Largest Urban Places, Listed Alphabetically by State: 1790–1990|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0027/tab23.txt|publisher=United States Bureau of the Census|access-date=September 22, 2011|archive-date=July 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718120116/https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0027/tab23.txt|url-status=live}}</ref> and the declining role of manufacturing in the American economy.

Outsourcing of manufacturing jobs in tradeable goods has been an important issue in the region. One source has been globalization and the expansion of worldwide [[free trade]] agreements. Anti-globalization groups argue that trade with developing countries has resulted in stiff competition from countries such as [[China]] which pegs its currency to the dollar and has much lower prevailing wages, forcing domestic wages to drift downward. Some economists are concerned that long-run effects of high [[Balance of trade|trade deficits]] and outsourcing are a cause of economic problems in the U.S.<ref name=Hira>Hira, Ron, and Anil Hira with foreword by Lou Dobbs, (May 2005). ''Outsourcing America: What's Behind Our National Crisis and How We Can Reclaim American Jobs''. (AMACOM) American Management Association. Citing Paul Craig Roberts, Paul Samuelson, and Lou Dobbs, pp. 36–38.</ref> with high [[external debt]] (amount owed to foreign lenders) and a serious deterioration in the United States [[net international investment position]] (NIIP) (−24% of GDP).<ref name=Bivens>Bivens, L. Josh (December 14, 2004). [http://www.epinet.org/Issuebriefs/203/ib203.pdf Debt and the dollar] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041217041437/http://www.epinet.org/Issuebriefs/203/ib203.pdf |date=December 17, 2004 }} ''Economic Policy Institute''. Retrieved on June 28, 2009.</ref><ref name=Cauchon>Cauchon, Dennis, and John Waggoner (October 3, 2004).[https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-10-03-debt-cover_x.htm The Looming National Benefit Crisis] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120929042412/https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-10-03-debt-cover_x.htm |date=September 29, 2012 }}. ''USA Today''.</ref><ref name=Phillips>{{cite book |author=Phillips, Kevin |year=2007 |title=Bad Money: Reckless Finance, Failed Politics, and the Global Crisis of American Capitalism|publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0-14-314328-4}}</ref>

Some economists contend that the U.S. is borrowing to fund consumption of imports while accumulating unsustainable amounts of debt.<ref name=Bivens /><ref name=Phillips /> On June 26, 2009, [[Jeff Immelt]], CEO of [[General Electric]], called for the U.S. to increase its manufacturing base employment to 20% of the workforce, commenting that the U.S. has outsourced too much in some areas and can no longer rely on the financial sector and [[consumer spending]] to drive demand.<ref name=Immelt>Bailey, David and Soyoung Kim (June 26, 2009).[https://www.theguardian.com/business/feedarticle/8578904 GE's Immelt says the U.S. economy needs industrial renewal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150611181851/http://www.theguardian.com/business/feedarticle/8578904 |date=June 11, 2015 }}.''UK Guardian.''. Retrieved on June 28, 2009.</ref>

Since the 1960s, the expansion of worldwide free trade agreements have been less favorable to U.S. workers. Imported goods such as steel cost much less to produce in [[Third World]] countries with cheap foreign labor (see [[steel crisis]]). The introduction of pollution regulation in the late 1960's, combined with rapidly increasing U.S. energy costs (see [[1970s energy crisis]]) caused much U.S. heavy industry to begin moving to other countries. Beginning with the recession of 1970–71, a new pattern of deindustrializing economy emerged. Competitive devaluation combined with each successive downturn saw traditional U.S. [[manufacturing]] workers experiencing lay-offs. In general, in the Factory Belt employment in the manufacturing sector declined by 32.9% between 1969 and 1996.<ref>Kahn, Matthew E. "The silver lining of rust belt manufacturing decline." ''Journal of Urban Economics'' 46, no. 3 (1999): 360–376.</ref>

Wealth-producing primary and secondary sector jobs such as those in manufacturing and computer software were often replaced by much-lower-paying wealth-consuming jobs such as those in retail and government in the [[tertiary sector of the economy|service]] sector when the economy recovered.<ref name=Friedman>David Friedman (Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation). [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-jun-16-op-friedman-story.html No Light at the End of the Tunnel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230921112800/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-jun-16-op-friedman-story.html |date=September 21, 2023 }}, ''Los Angeles Times'', June 16, 2002.</ref>

In 1984, an incremental expansion of the U.S. trade deficit with China began combined with growing trade deficits with [[Japan]], [[South Korea]], and [[Taiwan]]. As a result, the traditional manufacturing workers in the region have experienced economic upheaval. This effect has devastated government budgets across the U.S. and increased corporate borrowing to fund retiree benefits.<ref name=Cauchon /><ref name=Phillips /> Some economists believe that GDP and employment can be dragged down by large long-run trade deficits.<ref name=Friedman />