East Palestine, OH is a tragedy, and a tragic symbol of something much bigger.
In the short term, the folks in the area need more answers and relief. For days, there was silence, and an initial pittance of relief offered from Norfolk-Southern. Then three days ago, a state press conference (in Columbus) where personal stories of fear and sickness (and there are many) were casually framed as mere “anecdotes”; residents were told to take any sick pets to their vet as they usually would; and when asked point blank, the Governor said he “probably” would return home if he lived in the area. Two days ago, the railroad—which is shouldering most of the recovery to date—was a no-show at the meeting where residents wanted to have their questions answered.
Yesterday, on a better note, Senator Sherrod Brown called on the Governor to seek federal help, which he is now doing. And, thankfully, we learned today that a clinic will be established so that residents with health concerns (Ie. “anecdotes”) can have them assessed by medical professionals.
Needless to say, I feel for the residents and understand their frustration and fear. They deserved a far more forthcoming response, along with a sense of urgency that their concerns (and symptoms) are being assessed and taken seriously. In 2020, I praised the Governor for his team’s proactive response to the pandemic and display of empathy; the reaction here has fallen woefully short of that, which has also eroded trust in the answers being provided to a concerned community.
Let’s hope the last two days mark a needed stepping up.
In the meantime. why do I say East Palestine is a symbol of something far bigger?
All of this taps into one of my deepest frustrations about the state of our politics and country today…and that is the downward spiral of mid-size and small towns across the state and nation.
In this competitive 21st century economy, these towns already face a steep uphill climb. But when far too much of the political agenda is dominated by major monied interests—pushing and shoving their way into control of too many gerrymandered states, and too often, the federal government as well—most of those elected to represent these communities are voting against the very things these towns need to make it.
The video above walks through the details. But the standard operating procedure of so many levels of government these days is trickle-down economics, deregulation. the raiding of public assets, and the holding down of wages and workers.
And the result of this combination, again and again, is that the public pays the price for narrow interests to profit.
How does the public pay?
They pay it directly through shocks like this accident, the opioid crisis, or the foreclosure crisis—all stemming from a non-stop deregulatory push which leaves the public bearing all the risk. They pay it through a scarcity of funds for infrastructure or health care or public schools. They pay it directly when monies they expend for taxes or energy bills are diverted to private players (for-profit schools or big energy company bail-outs) who’ve secured themselves a direct infusion of public funds.
Overall, almost any measure of public outcomes in Ohio of late will show decline versus decades ago, and compared to other states. And those measures are especially bleak for communities that are already struggling, and which lack the muscle or powerful voice to advocate for their interests. In a tragic irony, the very things these towns need most are the things being denied by their own elected officials.
East Palestine and small towns across Ohio and the nation are in desperate need of a politics that goes to bat for the public good. Back in states especially, the private, top-down political model driving decisionmaking today is only accelerating their decline.
