In his song Allentown, released in 1982, Billy Joel sings about the demise of the steel and coal industries in Pennsylvania. Watch the music video, and answer the following questions.
Allentown (Billy Joel)
What type of unemployment is the song about? Explain. Why do you think the loss of manufacturing jobs was so difficult on the workers in areas like Allentown and parts of the Midwest where manufacturing was once the largest employer?
If you were interested in pursuing this topic in more detail, identify one piece of data (or information) that you would need/want to better understand the economics of steel and coal industries and what happened in PA?
For example, I might want quantitative data on coal production in PA from 1900-1980 to look at coal production trends and see precisely where it declines. Or, since I don't know much about science behind coal production, I might want to look at what resources it uses to better understand why it was such a big deal in PA.
You should include one initial post that addresses both sets of questions above and one response to a peer post.