Left Behind America

In the early 20th century, Dayton, OH, was the center of manufacturing and technological innovation, home to the Wright brothers, as well as companies like General Motors and National Cash Register. Things began to slip in the 1970s, with white flight to the suburbs, globalization, disappearing manufacturing jobs, income inequality, wage stagnation, and the heroin epidemic. Soon after, Dayton's broad, bustling streets came to resemble empty boulevards from some impoverished Third World country. Alec MacGillis reports from Dayton in this PBS-aired Frontline documentary, where the poverty rate hovers above 30 percent (three times the national average). When the big factories closed, people either lost their jobs or were forced to accept positions with lower pay and reduced benefits. Of course, fewer quality jobs meant less tax money to spend on schools and essential infrastructure improvements. The drug plague further stressed the system, made worse by Dayton's central location as a highway hub heavily used for drug distribution. People are working multiple jobs, families are struggling, soup kitchens are crowded, and some who once donated to food pantries now rely on them for sustenance and survival. But there are a few rays of hope: Dayton is an "immigrant-friendly" city and some foreign companies, including a Chinese glass factory, have opened locally, offering some security (although at lower wages). Mayor Nan Whaley is interviewed along with business and industry figures, as well as citizens, in this profile that offers a timely look at a key political battleground state. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (S. Rees)