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Jason Cohn / Reuters
First year apprentice ironworker George Vacheresse pauses during a class at Ironworkers Local 539 in Wheeling, West Virginia. Vacheresse was a steelworker for 17 years but decided to retrain after watching layoffs erode the workforce at his machinist shop over 17 years. He hopes his new skills will lead to a much higher-paying job.
Jason Cohn / Reuters
The town of Wheeling, West Virginia is emblematic of the economically struggling region it sits in, and could get a big boost from a new Shell chemical plant planned for the area. Real estate agents, restaurants, banks and others report a business jump that they expect to be made permanent by the arrival of chemical plants.
Reuters reports from Wheeling, West Virginia — In George Vacheresse's lifetime, Appalachia has fallen from its prime when steel mills and coal mines anchored middle-class communities and offered hope there always would be enough work to go around.
In this historically poor region nestled in the misty mountains of the eastern United States, most steel mills shut down long ago and the coal workforce has shrunk by 90 percent in the past 40 years.
In the Northern Appalachia area alone, where West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania converge, billions of dollars of investment is planned by major companies, including most recently Royal Dutch Shell, to recover the gas and build new chemical plants.
"I hope it gives us jobs for everybody," said Vacheresse, 39, who last fall joined an apprentice scheme at a Wheeling, iron workers' labor union to learn how to work in steel construction. He made the move after watching layoffs erode the workforce at his machinist shop over 17 years. He expects his new skills will lead to a much higher-paying job building Shell's planned new $2 billion cracker, industry slang for a chemical plant.
"Something like this could carry our region for years and years," he said. Read the full story.
Jason Cohn / Reuters
Charles Comas, owner of Comas Family Barber Shop on Main Street in Wheeling, West Virginia, finishes giving a hair cut to regular customer John Oliver on March 6, 2012. Oliver, who has lived in Wheeling his whole life, remembers when the now sparsely occupied downtown was so packed with people "you couldn't walk down the street without bumping into someone." He is skeptical that the burgeoning shale gas industry or the rumoured Shell cracker plant will help the city.
Jason Cohn / Reuters
A community garden is seen in a vacant lot left over from one of few demolished buildings on Main Street in Wheeling, West Virginia. The city is struggling to find creative ways to deal with their down economy while waiting for new investment.
Jason Cohn / Reuters
First year Ironworker apprentices (left-right) Ian Welshhans, Daniel Truax and Jason Taylor practice their welding skills during a class at the Ironworkers Local 549 training facility in Wheeling, West Virginia on March 6, 2012.
Jason Cohn / Reuters
An old Ohio Edison electric plant, rumored to be the site for the first new U.S. chemical cracker plant in more than 20 years, is seen across the Ohio river from Moundsville, West Virginia.
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There is certainly an abundance of hard working, talented people in that area. I hope they pull something together to make the entire area productive and happy.
James, there are hard working, talented people all over this country that is out of work. SW Washington is one of them. But then we hear from a certain bunch of people that they are lazy, don't want to work, etc etc. People are retraining them selves, but without jobs, then what?
I just hope we, as fellow Americans can pull together and all people can find work. But this constant sniping at each other is not producing results. Education does help, and because the President wants to make college affordable for everyone, he is called a snob, or worse.
If a person has a college degree in the correct fields, there is plenty of work. But basketweaving 101, or liberal arts just doesn't cut it. No demand for those right now.
I have degrees in finance, marketing and business management but the companies in the area of the country where I live would rather hire illegal aliens and bring in Somalian, Sudanese, Guatemalan, Cuban refugee etc. labor. I live in a small community of about 12-15,000 people where there are over 40 nationalities represented at one company alone if that tells you of their hiring practices and because of the hiring practices of the corporations in my community I work at my local county jail. I am glad to have a job in these hard times but would rather be working in my intended degree field but because I do not speak mexicanese and am caucasian I am not the face of the company and therefore cannot even garner an interview with them.
Being educated is great.. if there are jobs open in that feild. Id like to see it easier for small biz to succeed. Im not school educated i learned what i know by hands on xp, but i have tons of good ideas and inventions just really hard to get them going and not get riped off or stolen.
Baby steps moving forward is all you can do as an individual and totally agree with Sally that pulling together is the only viable course of action...
Parts of New York and Chicago look like cess pools, but people aren't leaving there in droves either. Sometimes moving is not an option.
tom said - "I have degrees in finance, marketing and business management but the companies in the area of the country where I live would rather hire illegal aliens and bring in Somalian, Sudanese, Guatemalan, Cuban refugee etc. labor."....
Now wait a minute. Are there a lot of refugees and illegals seeking work in your degree field?? For gods sake, MOVE to where the jobs are.
The poor and uneducated staying in place, sure, where would they go anyway? (DON'T come to Cali, we don't need more poor people, thanks.) But for crying out loud, those will marketable skills need to move. I have 2 siblings in Florida who found better time, and we are in CA - have to follow the jobs, or be underemployed.
Moving and relocating can be very costly. If these people are not working, it is not an option for them. I love West Virginia and the people that live there. I do hope business does return to Wheeling and West Virgina. It's one of the most beautiful parts of the United States.
Sorry Tom,
If you're that qualified for the job, then your not speaking "Mexicanese" (not the best sign that your education had a big effect) would not be what's holding you back. You might want to do a quick self-examination of your other attributes that might effect your hireability.
Typically, illegal immigrants are offered wages below the minimum, with temporary work and few written records... since.. you know... it's illegal. I sincerely doubt that you have strawberry pickers beating you out of your MBA job.
Tom, with those multiple degrees, do you really expect to find decent employment in a community of 12-15,000 people? Those are big city degrees; not really applicable for a small rural area. Who's gonna need you? Wise up, head out on the first bus to where your multiple degrees will open doors. Believe me, there are plenty of jobs in finance and marketing every day in the paper and online. Like the comedian Sam Kinnison said to the starving people in the desert. "Maybe if you people lived where the food is, there wouldn't be so much world hunger. See this? This is sand. Nothing grows here. Nothings ever gonna grow here. Much like your degrees.
Sam also said "we have deserts in America, we just don't live in them." Ironically, he was killed by a drunk driver while on his way to Las Vegas...
I hope it works out for them also. The American worker needs positive news like this.
Once this natural gas boom ends and the frackers are done raping the environment, polluting your water and padding their pockets with your community tax dollars, they'll drop you like a bad habit and move on to another community to rape and pillage leaving nothing behind but a bunch of toxic sludge and jobless americans. Good luck with that, at least you'll have a sh#%ty job for a couple of years....maybe
So what is the answer? You seem to think you know it all.
Yo - sadly, Appalachia is used to that - for over a hundred years - it's called coal mining.
And before coal - the old growth forests were STRIPPED from the hillsides. Sadly, my great grandfather's family was part of that. He was the youngest, born about 1892, and he had to move to Ohio to find work elsewhere - most of the trees in West VA were cut down, by his adulthood.
Yomama.....Another hypocrite has spoken.......blah, blah, blah
Big fricking babies...People want good jobs...and I'm sure they are less polluting than anywhere else on earth. If you don't believe be buy a plane ticket to China! I hope the state does a fast track approval and the envirofanatics are made a non-event to the process.
Yomama--why don't you stick to posting about something you know. Like maybe sitting around on your lard bucket eating bon bons while you wait for Oprah to come on.
This is where I live, simply because I have no other choice. We certainly hope there is good that comes out of this. But we also hope that we don't repeat so many of our past mistakes. We need to make sure that this is not a short-term-gain-long-term-loss thing. I am not convinced at ALL that what we are doing here is not going to come back and bite us in the a$$ at some point from an environmental standpoint.
Everyone has a choice on where they live. Sounds like you choose to live there
Wow. Rick, where are you from? Do you have a job that pays over $50k a year?
I think he must, Harry. I am an "underemployed" Ph.D. who has been trying to find a full-time job for the last two years in the midst of a HORRIBLE job market and EXTREME competition when an occasional position becomes available. In the interim, I never accepted any assistance and have done everything from light construction to digging ditches in order to meet my obligations. I am willing to go anywhere this side of the Mississippi to "escape" West Virginia - something I admittedly should have done years ago. We remain debt-free - because we never spent more than we could afford and we lived quite simply. My wife's job (she teaches your children in a public school) keeps us here, but her services are valued at far less than $50K/year.
So Rick, my friend, you are bringing a knife to a gunfight if you are trying to take me to task on things here.
Ricky, remember to take that silver spoon out of your mouth before you begin to babble.
I lived the first 12 years of my life in WV, most of that time in Weirton, which is another mostly defunct steel town not far from Wheeling. My parents saw the writing on the wall and knew that moving away from there would be a good decision, despite the expense of moving and having to find another job in the new location. We moved to northern California, not all went well the first year, and we actually went back to Weirton, despite having built a house in CA. Since the house was not selling, we went back to CA and starting getting some traction. We have all lived on the west coast ever since - almost 50 years now since we originally left WV.
Moving away from there was one of the most important changes in my life, and resulted in better opportunities for all of the family. Not being able to afford to move is a great excuse, but if you have enough motivation and make good choices, it is well worth it to move to a location with better opportunities. One way to make that work is to apply for jobs and get something lined up before moving, easier to do these days with help of the internet. While we had some homesickness the first year or two, I in the long wrong do not regret making that move.
I visited Weirton a few years ago, the first time in 38 years I had been there. I drove through Wheeling and Moundsville, down through Mannington, Fairmont, and Grafton, where my family lived for several generations, it was sad to see how trashed most of it looked, fallen down buildings and the remains of rotting trailer homes. I thank God that I did not spend a lifetime there watching it all fall apart, instead I have lived in the Seattle area for 40 years, staying employed with a successful career for most of that time. Your life is largely about the choices you make, not about blaming bad luck and lack of opportunity. Don't be a victim. My 2 cents worth...
Glad you're doing ok, Mountaineer. Its tough out there. I live in Western WA and it is rough for a lot of good folks here. I'm very fortunate to have a good job. We need teachers over here and the landscape isnt much different than what your used to. You'll just have to get used to 2 seasons....warm rain and cold rain!! Best of luck to you
This is great news. No longer will these people have to apply for a drunk check from the government so they can live. Now they have hope.
good luck to all the folks in Wheeling. I hope you get some good pay days.
Wait until the prez. finds out that you are looking at jobs comming nto yout area. He will veto any hope you people have. Good luck and GOD bless you all.
Huh? That must be republicanese. I don't understand.
Don't be a jerk all your life.
Well, hopefully, they took better advantage of the 12 years of free education offered by our government then you obviously did. I think you are bitter because you can't get a job since your ignorance shoes every time you post.
This is not about politics but economics, business and, yes, the environment. If we do not take care of our environment there will be no need for jobs as there will be no more life.
Veto leroy gates!
How is it that Shell can come and build a chemical plant in a non-union right to work state but Boeing cannot. Why is Shell allowed to be competitive but not Boeing?. Strip all union contracts and start over from scratch. reset all salary and benefit structures so manufacturing can come back to the US and with it much needed jobs. Is it really worth it to hold up a company over union backed bribery or to have a job now adays.
thinkingmom, spoken like a true beatnic hippie. Stop worrying about the trees and worry about HUMAN LIVLEYHOOD will ya. I'm so tired of you liberal whack jobs with your Be kind to animals, free health care for all, free open society, full disclosure blah blah blah... First of all, A HUMAN COMES BEFORE AN ANIMAL> EVERYTIME< ALL THE TIME. Full disclosure, not until all involved can keep their mouths shut, too many convienent leaks seem to happen. Ahh the heck with it. I am tired of dealing with liberal pukes. i hope you all end up the same color, in the same houses, complainin about the same things.
Dom,
Does it occur to you that what poisons trees and animals, also poisons humans?
I am not going to accuse Shell or any other chemical producer of being a polluter, per se. But all extraction (timber, mining, drilling and agriculture) and conversion (generation, refining, smelting, distilling and manufacturing) industries produce waste, some of which is nasty or toxic. How that waste is treated and managed seperates the good from the bad.
Areas like West Virginia and eastern Kentucky are legion with stories of outside concerns coming to their area, stripping the resource, and leaving only waste and destruction behind. Ask the failed sludge pond victims. Ask those who have watched 500' of mountaintop removed to expose 15' of coal. Ask residents near any Ohio Valley coal-fired generation plant if they can keep there cars or homes clean. (Hint, local people do not choose light colored roofing, as it streaks black within months. The sky is only truly blue for about a day after a good rainstorm.) And ask Gov. Kasinich why he halted waste brine disposal by injection wells in Ohio. (It appeared to be causing earthquakes, up to 4.0 on Dec. 31, 2011.)
The energy corporations will (probably already have) wrangle massive tax concessions on the federal, state and local level, and run little risk of making out like the bandits they are. Certain politicos will feed in their wake like the carrion eaters they are. A few towns may see some temporary economic gains, the bulk of which will go towards taxes (workers don't get to negotiate better deals for themselves) and inflated housing, groceries, alcohol, drugs and other sundry necessities of the retrofitted American working class 2.0. The castle of sand will be demolished around them just as they regain some measure of faith in the future they might bequeath their children. Then, the cycle will begin all over again.
Too bad that the legions of Americans (from all walks of life) can't overcome their lifetimes worth of conditioning to see the exploiters for what they are, rather than the heroes we've been taught to believe that they were, and take back what was stolen from them. Many of us have worked a lifetime to feather the nests of these scum-sucking dogs and their inbred children (the new managerial class), who are striving to establish themselves as the new American (hereditary) aristocracy.
Ever get the feeling you've been had?
When it says "chemical plant" does that mean "making gas plant"? We need more refiners in the U.S. and start refining our own oil. We have enough to last for at least 100 years if we kept it all here, and used it here.
That should be a law that Congress should have Passed yesterday. All products stay here and are refined here, Nothing leaves this country until the fuel crises is over. That means 2.00 a gallon gas, and heating fuel we can afford, natural gas included.
It means drilling for natural gas and potentially ruining the drinking water source for millions.
Steven, why would we want more refineries? With fewer refineries in the US they can charge us a higher rate at the pump, putting more into their pocket. Why would they want to spend millions if not billions to build a refinery when they can put profit right into their pocket.
Why fix whats working for them. Have you seen the profits these oil companies post every year?
Steven100
100 years is no time at all. It is imperative that other forms of energy be developed starting now. Why do we always wait til the last minute to solve problems that we know are coming.
If the wealthy bought solar for all their roofs, the cost would be reduced for the rest of us. All being attached to the grid would feed the grid for what they didn't use, producing electricity and reducing their electric bills. I'm still waiting for Pres Obama to get those solar panels installed on the White House. He talks a lot about alternative energy, but doesn't put his money when his mouth is.
Yes, solar works. I live totally off the grid with solar and wind.
Steven - America has become a fuel EXPORTER.....Boston Globe, 12-31-11 ...."There is at least one domestic downside to America’s growing role as a fuel exporter. Analysts say the trend helps explain why US motorists are paying more for gasoline. The more fuel sent overseas, the less of a supply cushion there is at home.
Refining companies will not say how much they make by selling fuel overseas. But analysts say those sales are probably generating higher profits per gallon than the fuel sold in the United States; otherwise, they would not occur."....
I'm guessing they are making lots and lots - way more, obviously, than they can sell it for here in the US.
p.s. - before saying the "government" should stop that, regulate that, whatever - remember the hue and cry for "capitalism" and free markets. They sell overseas because those people pay more for fuel than we do in this country.
Steven,
More likely to be producing anhydrous ammonia fertilizer from natural gas. Or using energy from natural gas to "crack" heavy oils to produce plastic resins. Both can be good, safe neighbors; or nightmares. New plants are usually well managed, but the third or fourth owners will face mounting repair costs and lower production, which too often leads to corner-cutting and safety issues for everyone.
This is one point of hope, not just for West Virginia and the surrounding areas, but for America. We have enough energy that we could tell the Arabs to go drink their oil - time for us to use it. We are destroying our mountains and country to mine coal to run electric power plants, when we could easily and cheaply burn clean gas, less emissions clean up. And for the fools complaining about fracturing the formation possibly harming ground water - have you ever seen a clean mountain stream after a coal mine dumps its acid drainage in it? NOTHING can live in a stream below a coal mine. Also, how many times have you heard of a worker being trapped in a cave in on a gas well? Where is the equivalent of Upper Big Branch? IT AIN'T!
Meanwhile, good working Mountaineers! Learn to weld, lay pipe, be a catskinner, run a rig - if we can't make steel, we can lay it!
Bring cleaner jobs by demolishing old run down buildings and rebuilding with newer electrical system, solar power, hydroelectric, wind, compost materials....etc......We need to move on and get away from energy that destroys the environment. Start by thinking outside the box!!! Build for the future of tomorrow and not to power the greedy of today.
The solution is simple. Grow our own dope. Hell, we don't even grow enough "MaryJane" to supply this country. We got to import most of the drugs we use to kill our youth with.
Don't worry Wheeling West Virginia, i'm sure some hippies from CA or other parts will be along shortly to tell you Natural Gas is bad, and you have no right to drill, explore, or even entertain the thought of using it. They know what is best for you. Just look at California, and how well that state is doing. Please be more like them. It's for the children. And the environment. And Socialism. Don't forget that part. They know best what is good for you. And you will accept it. Or else.
Did someone pee in your coffee this morning? I'm so sorry.
Why use natural gas when you can just be dependent on foreign oil.
What does that mean; "And socialism?" Britain is a "socialistic" country and they seem to be doing just fine. Do you really believe that, as a civilized society, we have no responsibility for each other? "Let 'em die" works for you does it? Based on your post I am assuming that you are not in the "top 1%", so you should be very careful about what you call socialism, Clammy!
Love people who use the word "Socialism" as if it's the worst possible direction our country could move towards. I can guarantee you they have never lived in a socialist democractic country. I have (Sweden) and as a preschool teacher's assistant I recieved from the government 4 weeks paid vacation, medical insurance for myself and family, child care for my child for 18 months while receiving 80% of my salary (the 18 months must be split between husband and wife) sick leave which pays 80% of your salary starting the second day your out of work. A monthly stipend of $120 for each child you have. A government who puts it citizens before banks and corporations, who's political agendas revolve around quality of life and environmental issues not fear of terrorism or wether insurance should pay for female contraception or if "Satan" exists. Governmental regulations oversee the building of housing and industries. You don't see vacant or abandon houses there due to foreclosure or speculative building of McMansions that no one can now afford. There is a reason why Swedes live longer, healthier lives, rate higher than the U. S. in educational standards, have a country that is moving towards clean energy sources much faster, has a vast middle class and little wealth inequality etc. etc. etc. If we in the US could wrench control of our country from the rich, then trust our government to take our taxes and distribute them evenly back to us on things that increase our quality of life then we too could have a quality of live enjoyed by Swedish citizens.
All I can say is get one of those jobs before the wetbacks move in and steal them all.
Hell! Thats just what we need here in West Virginia, WHAT'S ONE MORE PLANT !!!
I just want to point out that the guy in the middle welding booth is about to learn a very valuable lesson.
Stick welding in tennis shoes and not wearing welding spats equals a hot foot dance!
anither Monsanto/Solutia waiting to happen
big business just wants to kill people that they assume will not be missed
I'm sure the Democrats will find some way to shut down the plant and project! Not that I want to live on a cesspool of a planet but the Democrats and tree huggers would rather shut stuff down than try to find an environmentally friendly AND cost effective way of keeping our industries functioning.
Instead they would rather put people out of work and force companies to move their manufacturing and jobs overseas!
It's will be a shame after 20 years of the taxpayers throwing away billions of dollars on epa studies and approvals... The old Snail Darter will again become extinct...Then there will be another 20 years of environmentalist, animal rights and preservationist time wasted....Until We the people clear out the current Washington mindset this project is doomed from the start...
This area of the country so deperately needs this, but after all the shale runs out, I see it going right back to where it was before. Similar to when the coal industry got more efficient and the steel work was outsourced. Hopefully this will bring enough revenues to the area to break the cycle. To many good years ahead!
~Ind
Remember one the Independent-1141593, anything is better than nothing at this point in time. The shale industry can last a very long time IMO. They say the person to see the last well to be drilled in the Marcellus Shale beds hasn't been born yet. There is always a lot of maintenance to be done on the pipelines just like in Alaska etc also. This is way more that a band aid to that area of the country. I was born not too far away from that area and there are a lot of good hard working people back there that would love to have a job than a government check at the end of the week.
This is just just a bandaid on a on a very large wound.
Please trust me when I say that there will be" life after Obama". So far he has managed to bring the USA down to the level of a developing country instead of the giant we really are.
This article is about learning new skills so that they will have jobs in the shale industry which is good for them. If they are willing to relocate they can have jobs now in ND. and make very good money. If they are paying workers at McDonald's $18.00 an hour now just think what they are willing to pay for skilled workers in the oil fields.
Obama can't hold this country down forever. With a little luck he will be out of the WH come Nov. and we will be on our way to a brighter future.
Obama?? Yeah, right. Until American corporations are penalized for shipping jobs overseas, it will not improve. I used to be on board the train of "free trade" and all that idealism, until I realized that "they" don't play by the same rules.
When a Chinese corp can bring in girls from the countryside, put them in dorms, work them at about a buck an hour - 12 hours days - 6 days a week....that's a problem, we cannot compete with that. The girls are happy, since if they stayed home, their parents would make them work 7 days a week, dusk to dawn, and pay them NOTHING, no Sundays off.
Finding work in Appalachia was tough even in the 80s when we lived in a neighboring state. A study was done that they were discriminated against, as no company would hire them for the front office - didn't want that twang accent to make the company look bad (ignorant, whatever). That is unfair, but it was what it was. The kids there today need to get a good education - those in poverty can get grants - and they need to move out of the holler. (Not all, just a lot more than are going currently.)
Good comment
A brighter future. You mean a brighter future like the one that George W Bush left us with? Give me a break. Wake up and realize that 90% of our current financial problems were given to us by King George.
Responding to Sally Ann about liberal arts degrees . . .
Those who study languages, literature, history, the arts, etc. are likely to become your kids' teachers . . . . and your community leaders. That little book you just read to your kids was likely written by an English major, and illustrated by an art major. Study of the Liberal Arts/Humanities is the mark of an advanced, civilized society.
While many of us are still waiting for a job to open up, we may want to get on down to the nearest adult ed center and brush up on our grammar and math skills. Tech schools have a world of career options. Go check it out. I think I will take Basketweaving 101 - ! sounds like fun - !
I'm a Machine Tool instructor, over the past few years i've had more students than i could handle. Over the last year all of them have gone to work. The number of full time students have dropped now. I have 12 full time students. 9 of them already have a full time job as machinist in manufacturing companies here in western Tennessee. Manufacturing in this area is still looking for skilled people. There appears to be a shortage of people willing to enter into or recommend their children to enter into the manufacturing fields.
There are a lot of opportunities in manufacturing at this point in time. For all those who are constantly saying "there's no jobs" i beg to differ. If you want to work, you can find a job. People cant blame or point fingers at the politicians for ever. Things are turning around and will continue to turn as long as people want to provide for there families through an honest days work. College, is a good idea, but for some, the first plan should be to learn a trade skill.
Couldn't agree more. College degrees are wonderful, yes, but not everyone needs to go to college. Do you have any idea how many job openings there are every day in craftmanship, manufacturing, machinests, etc? Plumbers make great money. If we all went to college, who would do the actual work?
If you are willing to work and can do something in demand, you will do well. People talk about green power, but don't want wind generators killing birds and bats, jamming up the "view", then solar is fine when the sun shines, otherwise you have environmentally nasty batteries to store the power, don't even talk about nukes - so we can do one of three things: mine coal, accept the deaths and mountaintop removal and emissions, drill and burn gas (possibly least exhaust emissions of all), or put converters on the hot air and BS generated in DC. But of the three, I suspect gas drilling is the most reliable and cleanest.
Meanwhile, food for thought for those who are not familiar with energy industry;
I am a pipeliner
Yes, to the pipeliner, you are what this country needs. People who are willing to work for their money. There are jobs available, but you have to go where the jobs are, they wont just fall in a persons lap. Skilled trades people are increasingly hard to find right now. Too many people have just given up or have gotten their skills in the wrong area of work for their local environment/economy.
There is opportunities on the horizon for those willing and thoughtful enough to recognize windows of opportunities and when they manifest and are willing to take the leap head first.
People should stop blaming others, stop making excuses, and start helping themselves.
I did not choose to be born in the sticks of Kentucky to a family living on poverty-level wages. I did something about it later in life when I was able, but it also took a lot of luck. I wonder how many of you calling it a 'choice' to live in the Appalachia region were actually born into it and had to endure the struggle of finding a way out. Very few, I'm sure.
Funny how that North Dakota "boom" you talk about has happened under President Obama's watch.
I am from that part of the country and all at one time it was great and then wheather it was good or bad EPA jumped in and it went down hill from there. The resources are there to make it great again but most people do not understand as long as the people outside that part of the UNITED STATES have it good!
Yes, now you go by Bethlehem Steel factory and it's turned into a shopping mall - way to go, USA! Midland and Allegheny Ludlum are shut down - reminds me of the Johnny Cash song "The L&N Don't Stop Here Anymore".