When the jobs go away
History comes with some hard lessons. In particular that attached to economic activity. Unlike governments companies exist not to spend the money but to make the money. To earn for the shareholders in most cases. I live in a country that has a lot of primary industry. No need to try and name them all because I would not be able but in each case the workers end up paying the price. Try to find any industry that has had a long lifetime. I have been lucky in that I have never lived in a town that died. I have always learned about such things after the fact. I was watching a documentary on the closure of a particular small village when the fish went away. No matter how many rounds the government dances eventually the cost goes beyond the benefit and with it the plants close. No need to wonder why because, there is always a good reason but for those on the front lines and it never gets easy. I think what is hardest to accept is how long a simple story can be stretched out. There are very few miracle answers. When the fish go away or the trees are too small or there is no mineral left in the ground the jobs are going to leave and for those living there, they rarely have a choice. You can always pack up and move on. Will this ever change? I doubt it because in the end a business opens for only one reason; to increase their wealth and for those involved in the jobs when there is no money there are no wages to be paid. You don’t have to go far to find the bleak stories. Around here time has been gentle but just across the waters hardship is an integral part of the history.
