Help me out, here

[Belsnickel]

(12-08-2021, 07:30 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: You make some solid points but, in my opinion, the biggest intentional move to hold down the US worker was the government (both parties) teaming up with corporations to outsource manufacturing jobs that blue collar workers could actually raise a family on to slave labor countries like China. Making the US a service industry nation completely decimated the earning potential of the non-skilled blue collar worker.

As to the opiate crisis, that's oddly far less of an issue here than it is in the Midwest and eastward. We certainly deal with it, but nothing like on the same scale.

Oh yeah, that neo-liberal/conservative bullshit was a big blow to middle America. As for the opioids, it has been a huge problem in Appalachia as that is where the pharmaceutical companies pushing their wonder drugs really targeted things. They marketed it (Oxy) for chronic pain and sold it as less addictive than other opioids. Problem is, they were full of shit. They went into these poor communities with folks in lots of pain from working in the mills and the mines. Then they got addicted and they couldn't get the pills anymore and the story goes on.

I've done some research on the topic for a policy memo and it's just devastating. I don't know how my city has managed, but we have the epidemic all around us but it hasn't hit our county hard. It's in the counties north of us, and in the counties south and west of us, but not here in the same numbers. I can only guess it is because we have a decent labor market which has prevented the despondency of a terrible economic situation fostering a sense of hopelessness that has really helped push the crisis into the levels we see in some areas.