FARAH STOCKMAN: What Happens to People When Work Disappears

Farah Stockman is a member of the New York Times editorial board and author of the book American Made: What Happens to People When Work Disappears.
Her book chronicles the closure and relocation to Mexico of a Rexnord bearing plant in Indianapolis in the wake of the 2016 presidential election. It focuses particularly on the lives of three workers in the plant.
American Made is a detailed a moving portrait of the reality of industrial life in the 21st century American Heartland. She joins me to discuss this important book.
Buy the book: www.amazon.com/American-Made-...
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[@jills1521]

This might be your best interview yet, Aaron--you had such insightful questions for your guest. I learned a lot from her appearance on your show, and it sounds as though she learned a lot from researching and writing her book.

[@rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr1]

Healthcare is absolutely key. I used to be not at all open to the push for universal coverage but seeing so many families over the years just cowering in fear of what might happen, seeing nukes go off in a families' finances due to just pure bad luck, and seeing people feeling trapped and unable to pursue better prospects or entrepreneurial pursuits because they can't be without their group plan has changed my mind. Beyond individual cases, businesses having to cover their labors' health costs puts us at a HUGE disadvantage in the international labor market.

[@corykennedy1043]

I'm glad you're seeing the true story, but I remember this being raised in 1994, and those in your bubble refused to listen. "Those people," as you refer to them, build the things you enjoy having. Manufacturing is the backbone of any middle class and the wealth of a country. Most other jobs revolve around making things and the money it brings. Look at countries around the world. The successful ones have natural resources and use them to build things people buy. China's economic boom came from the manufacturing jobs that moved there from the places you are talking about.