Decline Of Wilkes County Shows Why Status Quo Can Not Stand

It is a truly depressing story today in the Times about the decline of Wilkes County, North Carolina. In the last 15 years, the median income of the country has declined by about 30% as its industries were destroyed first by global competition and then by the financial crisis.  And the local businesses that became successful abandoned the county for more lucrative pastures.  The first body blow came in 1996 when NASCAR made the move into prime-time and abandoned the famed short track at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Then came the entry of China into the World Trade Organization in 2001 which put the already stressed local textile and furniture businesses under enormous pressure. And then Lowe’s, the home improvement chain that was founded in North Wilkesboro in 1946, moved its headquarters out of town to Charlotte in 2003. Finally, much of the local industry that survived these successive body blows were eventually crushed by the Great Recession. 

When your median income drops by nearly a third and there are virtually no prospects on the horizon, is it any surprise that a populist demagogue like Trump would find support in a place like this.  When the establishment has abandoned you, the only hope left is someone who promises that business as usual can no longer stand.