the.com/rust belt
where america used to make things, and the machines never quite stopped complaining about it.
means a swath of the midwest and northeast whose economy was built on manufacturing and steel, then gutted by automation and offshoring.
from coined in the 1980s as a grim rhyme with sun belt, contrasting the industrial north's decline with the south and west's growth.
peak decade1950s, when steel and autos ruled
key statesohio, michigan, pennsylvania, indiana, illinois
political weightdecides presidential elections, disproportionately
symbol citydetroit, once motor city, now cautionary tale