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Many might believe that President Joe Biden's State of the Union Address last week may have missed the mark on some fronts -- his approach to inflation and the border crisis, to name a few.
Where it did hit an important note, however, was the president's choice to quote Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, who declared "It's time to bury the label 'Rust Belt.'"
We couldn't agree more.
Brown had used this phrase in a January newspaper column, in which he announced that Intel would be bringing 10,000 manufacturing jobs to the state in New Albany. "It's time to see what used to be called the 'Rust Belt' become the home of significant resurgence of manufacturing," Biden said as he spoke of Intel Corp.'s $20 billion planned investment in a semi-conductor chip factory near Columbus. "... There's something happening in America. Just look around, and you'll see an amazing story. The rebirth of pride that comes from stamping products 'Made in America.' The revitalization of American manufacturing. Companies are choosing to build new factories here. ..."
Intel's CEO Pat Gelsinger sat with the first lady during the president's speech.
Part of why this is happening is communities investing in a vision for their future. In some parts of our region, though, it seems as though local officials have banked on a resurgence of the past, when steel and coal provided for tens of thousands of families. Those days are gone forever.
But if state, county and municipal officials choose to face forward, we truly are sitting on a once-in-a-generation opportunity to use one-time spending to knock off the rust and prepare us for a bright, new future.