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Recently I have read Jamesville, an American story. The book shows the effects of General Motors cosigning their American factory in Jamesville Wisconsin. In Jamesville, General Motors was the main employer and source of wealth. The community has taken several steps to amend the problem, the small business group tries to invest in the community, and the local government attempts to incentive general Motors to come back. General Motors does not come back to lots of workers enroll in a local community college where they are trained for new professions such as electricians.
As this community goes through economic change, people look to blame someone or something for their hardships. In the last chapter, the author Amy Goldstein shows how the lack of assistance from the government in financial aid or training programs caused an immense struggle for the community. As a result, many changed their views on the government. In 2016 Trump ran off a platform aimed to keep American jobs in America. This was demonstrated by Wisconsin changing from a democratic state to a republican one, swinging the electoral vote in Trump’s favor.
With the new rise of the gig economy, where people work in contracts from anywhere in the world, instead of a standard salary. This causes economic uncertainty for many people, like those who lost their jobs at General Motors. The uncertainty of the next paycheck, paired with the fact that people in any country can bid for jobs. Many richer countries are finding them self-undercut for these jobs. This, in turn, leads to nationalist political views. Which may be a contributing factor to the recent political actions in the US and the UK.
Nationalistic political views within the UK and the US can also be attributed to the rise of the gig economy. Living without a salary instead, living from contract to contract can leave workers in more economically developed countries, such as those left unemployed by the cosigning of General Motors, with uncertain futures. The uncertainty, augmented by the ability of LEDC based firms to undercut contract bids of MEDC firms creates an “us vs them” mentality. This mentality can be considered to be a contributing factor to the recent political actions in the US and the UK.
Interesting Reads
How to manage the gig economy’s growing global jobs market.
GM Workers Reflect On Life 10 Years After Janesville Plant Closure
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