Appelbaum highlights importance of the changing structure of the American economy

In an event hosted by Student Government, journalist Binyamin Appelbaum visited campus to discuss the economic consequences of the 2016 election. New York Times Washington correspondent spoke about the rhetoric coming from both major-party presidential candidates, especially in relation to trade, the loss of jobs, and immigration.

The 2016 election cycle has seen topics that were formerly less controversial, such as free trade, take center stage. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton each have spent considerable time presenting plans and making promises to bring jobs back to the United States.

In this context, Appelbaum offered a unique perspective. “Industrial jobs are not going to return. That’s the reality that we’re confronting today, and it underlies a lot of the economic angst that you hear in America. It’s not about the stuff that China’s taking away from us or that Mexico is taking away from us,” he said.

In contrast to the rhetoric of the presidential candidates, Appelbaum shared his belief that technological advancement, not free trade, is the chief reason for the frustration expressed in the past year over the loss of jobs.

“American manufacturing output is at the highest level in history. We make more stuff today in the United States of America than we have ever made before. It’s a remarkable statistic,” he explained. “Employment has plunged, productivity has spiked, and the net effect is that our manufacturing sector is, by that measure, healthier than it’s ever been before.”

Throughout the lecture, Appelbaum recalled several personal anecdotes of towns he has visited. He spoke of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, a town that used to be heavily dependent on manufacturing. A crossroads between New York City and Philadelphia, Hazleton is now home to an Amazon distribution center and a large meat packing facility.

“There are now more jobs in Hazleton than anyone can fill,” Appelbaum said. But these positions entail short contracts, long working hours, and very little benefits. Appelbaum explained that a large influx of Dominican immigrants moved to Hazleton to fill the void and work these unconventional jobs.

Those who have been living in Hazleton longer are less willing to abide by these new conditions.

“A former working class of non-Hispanic residents that has been displaced by this feels its economic status declining, and yet, for the most part, is entirely unwilling to take those jobs in the warehouses and in the meat packaging plants,” Appelbaum said.

Technological advancements, newly demanded skill sets, and different working conditions can explain why former working class people are now unemployed.

Appelbaum explained that the United States has shifted towards a primarily service-based economy. He referred to Pittsburgh as an example, citing the many instances in which both presidential candidates have suggested the importance of steel workers and jobs. “We are a nation of service workers. Eighty percent of workers in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area are in service industries,” he said.

Current politicians seem to visit cities like Toledo and Detroit when they talk about the economy, but Appelbaum claimed that there are equal if not greater challenges in the services industry in cities like Los Angeles and New York City. He added that politicians are essentially ignoring the actual conditions of the American economy.

According to Appelbaum, there are around 62,000 steel workers left in the United States today. In contrast, there are 850,000 workers alone in the home healthcare industry. These service workers are making an average wage and can barely stay above the poverty line, he claims.

“That’s not a good situation, and it would be nice to hear our politicians talking a little bit less about how to create more steel working jobs and a little bit more about what could be done for those home health care workers,” Appelbaum said.

As long as greater focus is placed on jobs and industries of the past, Appelbaum predicts little change or consequence resulting from this election.

Sophomore Matthew Gartenhaus, who attended the lecture, told the Rover, “As the United States economy has continued to progress, globalization is essential, but the side effects on small communities are an outcome that to an extent is inevitable. It was interesting to listen to Mr. Appelbaum discuss how the industrial jobs of the past have really shifted more to service jobs.”

Andrew Schmitz is a sophomore finance and political science major and living in Carroll Hall. He has spent the last three years living in Geneva, Switzerland after growing up in Los Angeles.  He can be contacted at andrew.j.schmitz.21@nd.edu.