Main Street: Findlay, Ohio

How many times during the past several years have you heard one commentator or another express the same familiar lament? “We just don’t make anything anymore.” Of course, it’s not true. Not even close. No country exports more than the United States except China. What is true is that millions of manufacturing jobs have been lost, shipped overseas where labor costs are often dramatically lower.

And that’s had a profound effect on many factory towns across the United States, particularly in the industrial heartland— The Midwest.

What is the state of American manufacturing today? Is it coming back, as the president says? And will we be able to compete once again?

To learn more, Need to Know traveled to Findlay, Ohio, a manufacturing town that is still growing even as towns close by have struggled. Correspondent John Larson reports from Main Street. Maria Hinojosa anchors the broadcast.

Read the full transcript.

For more of the music featured on tonight’s show, visit joshwoodward.com.

This program first aired April 12, 2013. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, May payroll employment increased by 175,000 and the jobless rate remained essentially unchanged (7.6%).

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