Classic tragedy follows a set structure: a hero advances and is then brought to ruin through a tragic flaw. For those of us in the audience, we witness, we engage, and we learn. But when it comes to an economic tragedy, with its heartache, sorrow, and all manner of challenges and conflict, the rules of drama do not apply. Casting blame is difficult, if not impossible. There are few clear villains, plenty of flaws, and unhappiness is everywhere. When economic crises are recounted well, though, greater understanding is possible.
Janesville: An American Story is an outstanding study of the impact of the recent Great Recession. Beautifully written by Amy Goldstein, a longtime writer for the Washington Post, the book looks at what happens to a community, Janesville, Wisconsin, after the main employer shuts down. It is not about charts, tables or economic theory. It is about people and how they have dealt with deep and hard challenges. It is tragic, heroic, and informative.
Janesville, a proud small city with a strong civic culture, two hours drive northwest Chicago, was home to the longest running GM automotive plant in the United States. Janesville’s population was over 63,000 and nearly 5,000 worked for GM when the plant closed in 2008. Economic pain radiated out, leading to a loss of more than 9,000 jobs, including those who worked for suppliers and support companies. Property values fell, services declined, and the very fabric of the community was hurt in ways that have affected generations.
Goldstein’s book runs from the closing through 2013. She writes about the community’s more public figures, such as Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, who grew up Janesville and considers it his home. Electoral politics plays an important role in how the state and town understood the economic crisis. However, the primary attention in this book is on working class families, the decisions and steps they took to deal with the crisis, and what did and not happen to them. Privation, stress, health concerns, failed marriages and hardship follow. A few, too, were able to use the Great Recession as an opportunity to grow. The book’s theme, making sense of a deep change in the American dream, emerges gradually, through the choices and words of the residents of Janesville. This book is no polemic. It is very good journalism, scores of vignettes woven together, grounded in close listening.
Designed for a general audience, Janesville can be particularly enlightening for educators. It will help to explain how many people think and feel about education. Goldstein takes pain to explain how those who were hurt by the recession interacted with education, K-12 through higher education – as a means of dealing with the economic crisis. Local schools and higher education were vital to many in the community. People have deep faith in schools. They willingly make tremendous sacrifices for education. Some passed on opportunity to keep their children in local schools, with their friends and community. Many people in the book demonstrated faith that education could serve as the community’s glue, bonding people together. Education is a lifeline, an opportunity, and a function that nourishes hope and community.
However, with that faith comes expectations – and schools could not solve economic woes. Degrees do not guarantee income. Janesville recounts the ways that some teachers were criticized and helps readers understand the reasons why. Teachers have privilege, some security, and they did not experience the Great Recession in the same way as many other residents of Jamesville. For some, this bred resentment. A few political leaders – Governor Scott Walker as a prime example – highlighted the status and protection that teachers, unionized government employees, received and used that as a tool to attack unions and strengthen his Republican base.
Beyond K-12, the training and academic programs offered through the local community college were not the panacea that many sought. Some students did make their way through the programs, but many did not. Programs did not necessarily lead to jobs. New careers were not always fulfilling. Most troubling, most of the new positions paid much less than the former jobs. Changing a life course is an extraordinarily difficult endeavor.
Janesville’s younger residents faced challenges of constrained choice – with limited time, with fewer opportunities, and with more responsibilities. A few teenagers highlighted in the book became the breadwinners for their families. College costs, too, loom extraordinarily large. Dreams necessarily became smaller. It does not take much empathy to appreciate how many young people of Janesville must feel as though they are on their own, under appreciated and without broader societal support and investment. I would wager that the experiences in Janesville are shared by many across the country. Appreciating that reasonable perspective is important for us who work in higher education.
We are a long way from the American dream of optimism and growth.
Janesville brings home the long-term costs of the Great Recession. It stands as a cautionary note to anyone who believes that they have ready answers about how to avoid the consequences of a major economic downturn. It is also a testimonial to the adaptability, strength and tenaciousness of those that live in Janesville. They are real life everyday heroes.
David Potash