AP reports: “Allies of Democrat John Kerry in this down-on-its-luck industrial state are armed with depressing statistics on unemployment and poverty, hoping to persuade voters to blame President Bush for the hit on their pocketbooks. In Michigan, 6.6 percent of workers are unemployed, with the strain sharpest in communities that have suffered plant closings and manufacturing cutbacks as jobs moved overseas. There is widespread anger, spreading into conservative areas, that Bush is not doing enough to keep those jobs at home or help the poor.”
“‘There’s a lot more they could be doing rather than fattening the rich man’s pocket,’ said Michael Rucker, who was fired from his job at a packing plant. As Rucker stood in line for help at a state work force development office in Flint, several cars circled its expansive parking lot, waiting for a space to open.”
The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippi’s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.
