It's been happening for much longer than NAFTA has been around. My hometown was known for building tires earlier in the 20th century and all that left in the early 80s and it never recovered.
That said, before that happened the place was kind of a "company town" and the big manufacturers with all the money essentially ran the place. Only good news if you were in their favor. Lots of stories about being harassed by police if you were on their bad side. They were the kind of people that would have still been using child labor if it weren't outlawed.
>They were the kind of people that would have still been using child labor if it weren't outlawed.
Allow me to remind you the manner in which child labor was outlawed:
Industrialization progressed to a point where it was no longer economically viable except in a few tiny niches. It was then outlawed, to much back patting.
Sure, some people would probably use it if it was viable, but don't pretend like it was some great accomplishment to outlaw it. It was basically a case of writing law after the market had made a decision.
>It's been happening for much longer than NAFTA has been around. My hometown was known for building tires earlier in the 20th century and all that left in the early 80s and it never recovered.
Also, the products they made were kind of crappy and expensive. It's very easy for a company like the one the GP described to stagnate and rot. Especially when unions get thrown into the mix.
The neat thing about company towns was company stores, which were the only kind of stores in town. They were happy to sell you anything you wanted, on credit. The problem being that at the end of the month you owed more to the company store than what you got in your paycheck.
That said, before that happened the place was kind of a "company town" and the big manufacturers with all the money essentially ran the place. Only good news if you were in their favor. Lots of stories about being harassed by police if you were on their bad side. They were the kind of people that would have still been using child labor if it weren't outlawed.