Why people in an Ohio town feel left behind in the modern U.S. economy

Amna Nawaz:

Steubenville, Ohio, was once a powerhouse of American manufacturing, a center of economic prosperity driven by steel mills.

But like many communities that depended on that industry, Steubenville has struggled to find its place in the modern American economy, even as the country as a whole continues to see high growth and employment.

Judy Woodruff visited the small city in Ohio to try to understand why many of its residents say they feel forgotten, as part of her ongoing series America at a Crossroads.

Announcer:

This is a story about some people, some American people who live along the Ohio River, in a valley nestled amid three states, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

John Saunders, United Steelworkers Representative:

When I came out of high school, you could pick wherever you wanted. It was like a cafeteria. Where do you want to go to work?

Judy Woodruff:

John Saunders is a United Steelworkers union representative who's been working in the steel industry in Steubenville, Ohio, for over 40 years. He still remembers how it used to be.

John Saunders:

People were hiring, and you had opportunities to go wherever you thought fit. I don't think I'm going to be around to see the heyday again.

Judy Woodruff:

Much has changed since the glory years of the 1950s, '60s and '70s. Growing competition from Asia began shuttering mills in the '80s, and the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, in 1994 only accelerated that trend.

As jobs went away, the Steubenville metro area's population plummeted from 163,000 in 1980 to just over 114,000 today. Saunders says people in this region feel betrayed.

John Saunders:

They're bitter their families left. They're bitter that they can't get their family. These jobs over the years were third, four, five generations of the same families working there. Everybody don't live happily ever after, OK? There's been some real pain.

Judy Woodruff:

A quarter of Steubenville residents live at or below the poverty line, compared to 11.5 percent nationally. And the median income in Steubenville is $39,000, compared with $74,000 across the country.

Rev. Ashley Steele, Urban Mission Ministries:

So, you are in what we call our fresh market, where you can shop, choose the items that you would like.

Judy Woodruff:

Pastor Ashley Steele at the Urban Mission Ministries Food Bank in Steubenville is trying to help fill the gap for those in need.

Rev. Ashley Steele:

So prior to the pandemic, we averaged about 10,000 visits to our pantry throughout an entire year. During the height of the pandemic, we were over 33,000 visits.

Judy Woodruff:

But it sounds like you still have a large number of people to serve.

Rev. Ashley Steele:

Yes, we will exceed that number this year.

Judy Woodruff:

The poverty here has had a dramatic effect on the lives of Steubenville residents. All of the downtown area is defined as a food desert by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

And on the south side of town, life expectancy is 17 years below the national average. James and Lisa Bogo have two children aged 2 and 16. They rely on food assistance from the Urban Mission to feed their young family. They say inflation has made it difficult to afford necessities.

Lisa Bogo, Parent:

Food pantries, you know, they're helping a lot. And it's sad because he works hard, very hard. And I might stay at home with them, but, at one point, I was working too. And it still wasn't enough.

Judy Woodruff:

Despite the fact that federal grants provide 10 percent of the food here and 30 percent of the Urban Mission's shelter budget, people here are frustrated by a feeling that their struggles are being ignored by Washington.

One resident recently complained: "We're the flyover country in flyover country."

Do you feel Washington hears what's happening in communities like these?

James Bogo, Parent:

No, no. No, they don't.

Lisa Bogo:

Not at all. Not at all.

(Crosstalk)

Judy Woodruff:

What makes you think that?

Lisa Bogo:

Honestly, here again, I mean, not to get into politics or anything that, but if you look at the world, and you look at our country, you see all these immigrant groups, people coming in from other countries.

They get tons of assistance from the government. But what about the people who live here, who are American citizens, have been here all our lives? You know, we kind of just kind of get shoved to the wayside. It's almost we don't matter enough. Maybe our votes don't matter enough. I don't know what the case, what it might be.

Judy Woodruff:

Those votes have shifted dramatically, along with the city's economic fortunes. With its steel unions, this used to be a Democratic stronghold and a vital stop on presidential campaigns.

In fact, I visited Steubenville in 1976 to cover candidate Jimmy Carter's stop here. Barack Obama carried it narrowly in 2008. But eight years later, and again in 2020, Donald Trump won the county overwhelmingly. And many would like to see him return again next year.

James Bogo:

If Donald Trump takes it, I think we will be better off.

Lisa Bogo:

When Donald Trump was president, our area was not as bad, it didn't seem.

James Bogo:

As bad as it is now.

Lisa Bogo:

People had gas. People had food. Didn't seem to be as…

(Crosstalk)

James Bogo:

They may not have had a lot, but they didn't have a struggle like they are now.

Lisa Bogo:

Yes, it just didn't seem people were struggling as bad.

James Bogo:

It seems everything's going down.

Judy Woodruff:

I will have a beer. I will have a beer.

Carmen DeStefano, Retired Steelworker:

Give me a Bud Light too.

Man:

Bud Light?

Carmen DeStefano:

Yes.

Judy Woodruff:

Yes.

Over at the Spot Bar in downtown Steubenville, we met Carmen DeStefano, a longtime steelworker whose son Carmen Jr. followed him into the industry.

Carmen DeStefano:

My son was lucky. He got a job in a steel mill right out of high school. But right now, he lost his job at Wheeling Steel.

He went — fortunately, he got a job at Weirton Steel, and he's laid off again. Whether he's going to go back or not, I can't predict that.

Judy Woodruff:

Who does he blame for what's happened in his career?

Carmen DeStefano:

You don't want to know that question. The Democrats. Me and him argue it all the time. He blames the Democrats.

Judy Woodruff:

And what does he say they have done?

Carmen DeStefano:

They have ruined everything. And he loves Trump. Now, figure it out. My dad is rolling over in his grave, a staunch Democrat. Me, I'm a staunch Democrat. My brothers were staunch — and my son is a Republican, I call him.

Judy Woodruff:

While many white working-class voters have shifted to the right, 2020 exit polls show that among all voters earning less than $50,000 a year, including all racial groups, the majority went for Joe Biden, not Trump.

About one in six Steubenville residents is Black, and City Councillor Royal Mayo says his community has been hit the hardest.

Royal Mayo, Steubenville, Ohio, City Council:

I mean, in the Black community, I mean, it's always been a struggle. Even in the best of times, it's not as good for us.

It's sad to say, but just like everywhere else, our unemployment was already twice the unemployment before the downturn.

Judy Woodruff:

Mayo says all of Steubenville has been helped by an infusion of federal dollars. The city won a $500,000 housing and urban development grant, some of which will go towards building an outdoor learning center.

Royal Mayo:

It's going to be right here. It's going to be a community garden. It's going to be a learning center.

Judy Woodruff:

And he and others are now working to secure a $50 million federal grant to redevelop the north end of town. But he says many people here don't realize the impact the federal government has.

Royal Mayo:

I'm not 100 percent satisfied with the Democrats too, but I shouldn't be. I mean, they're not there to just serve me, because all my fellow Democrats don't agree with me on every point. But there needs to be a middle ground that Democrats and Republicans alike can agree on to get some things done for the people.

Chandler Hoffman, Student:

Half my day is college credit-plus classes.

Judy Woodruff:

Oh, OK.

Chandler Hoffman:

They help me graduate with my associate's degree.

Judy Woodruff:

The hope for better days ahead is shared by Chandler Hoffman, a junior on the high school football team who plans to attend college.

Chandler Hoffman:

I want to be a civil engineer or a mechanical engineer. I think I will come back to this place after college. It's like a home to me. I really don't want to leave it.

Judy Woodruff:

With 20 million federal dollars in pandemic aid, his high school is now constructing a new science, technology, engineering and math building.

On a damp Friday night just before Halloween, the Steubenville Big Red had their first playoff game. Chandler, an offensive lineman, took the field. The final score, 42-0 Steubenville, a welcome victory for a city that feels it's missed out on its share of wins and would love to turn that around.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Judy Woodruff in Steubenville, Ohio.