Topic: Rust Belt

Right to work gets first foothold in Rust Belt

Right to work legislation finally passes House in Indiana. Governor is expected to sign law, which bans labor contracts that force workers to pay union fees. 

The Monitor's View: Lessons from Detroit Three's surprise comeback

Car and truck sales surged in November for General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. The reasons for their rebound from the gloom of 2009 provides lessons for other American industries.

Cover Story Leadership: The myth of the maverick

Does our love affair with mavericks – from Ronald Reagan to Steve Jobs – make sense?

Does Mitt Romney have the GOP presidential nomination wrapped up?

One by one, Mitt Romney's GOP rivals have taken runs at him, trumpeting his failures as a true conservative and his flip-flopping. But one by one, they’ve stumbled, and at the moment the race for the GOP nomination seems like Romney’s to lose.

Unemployment rate giving you the blues? Try these top five cities for jobs.

With the economy barely growing and investors bailing out of corporate stocks, the US job market isn't exactly sizzling. But conditions vary by region, with some metro areas showing substantial improvement over the past year, according to the Labor Department. Here are the five large metro areas with the lowest unemployment rates combined with unemployment that is down at least half a percentage point over last year.

With manufacturing plan, Obama misses the bigger picture

President Obama's manufacturing program ignores the import threat that's destroying US jobs and innovation.

Home deconstruction: Can an entire house be recycled?

Deconstruction of a home to reuse or resell its materials is gaining popularity as a more environment-friendly alternative to demolition. Sometimes it even saves money.

Downtown need a makeover? More cities are razing urban highways

Removal of aging highways is a strategy some cities are using to try to boost their downtown districts.

Robocop statue: A youthful lift for Detroit or a monument to blight?

Could a Robocop statue do for Detroit today what the sci-fi movie hero did for the dystopian Motor City of the future? Critics of the proposal dismiss its pop-culture pop as Rust Belt chic.

Super Bowl 2011 forecast: 60 minutes of chaos

Super Bowl 2011 features two defenses unrivaled at creating havoc and two quarterbacks uniquely equipped to handle it.

Ideas for a better world in 2011

In many ways, 2010 is a year you may want to relegate to the filing cabinet quickly. It began with a massive earthquake in Haiti and wound down with North Korea once again being an enfant terrible – bizarrely trying to conduct diplomacy through brinkmanship. In between came Toyota recalls and egg scares, pat downs at airports and unyielding unemployment numbers, too little money in the Irish treasury and too many bedbugs in American sheets. Oil gushed from the floor of the Gulf of Mexico for three months, mocking the best intentions of man and technology to stop it, while ash from a volcano in Iceland darkened Europe temporarily as much as its balance sheets. Yet not all was gloomy. The winter Olympics in Canada and the World Cup in South Africa dazzled with their displays of athletic prowess and national pride, becoming hearths around which the world gathered. In Switzerland, the world's largest atom smasher hurled two protons into each other at unfathomable speeds. Then came the year's most poignant moment – the heroic and improbable rescue of 33 miners from the clutches of the Chilean earth. There were many transitions, too – the return of the Republicans in Washington and the Tories in Britain, the scaling back of one war (Iraq) and the escalation of another (Afghanistan), the fall of some powers (Greece) and rise of others (China, Germany, Lady Gaga). To get the new year off to the right start, we decided to ask various thinkers for one idea each to make the world a better place in 2011. We plumbed poets and political figures, physicists and financiers, theologians and novelists. Some of the ideas are provocative, others quixotic. Some you will agree with, others you won't. But in the modest quest to stir a discussion – from academic salons to living rooms to government corridors – we offer these 25 ideas.

Opinion: Democrats' last line of defense against GOP gerrymandering: the Voting Rights Act

Emboldened by new Census numbers, Republicans will use their redistricting power to squeeze Democrats out. President Obama can stop it, if has the guts to use the Voting Rights Act.

Will tea party allies in Congress balk at international trade pacts?

As Obama presses for on a free-trade deal with Korea, where does the tea party stand? Polls say tea partyers do not favor trade pacts, but for many of their allies in Congress, it's a new issue.

The Monitor's View: One happy medium between Obama and Republicans? Energy.

The 2010 election signaled voter demand for jobs. The best federal response would be a GOP-Democratic compromise on energy issues.

G20: Paving the way for a new Great Depression?

At the G20 summit in Toronto, world leaders agreed to halve deficits in three years. At least one prominent economist says spending, not cuts, is what's needed.

Workers' paradise: The town built by Czech version of Henry Ford

Inspired by visits to Henry Ford's factories, Tomas Bata built the world's largest shoe plant – and a workers' paradise – in Zlin, now in the Czech Republic. Some say the values he instilled have contributed to the city's relative prosperity.

Four reasons US manufacturing could shine

Here are four reasons US manufacturing is becoming more competitive globally.

Opinion: Forget Afghanistan. Let's nation-build at home first.

Given our high dropout and unemployment rates, we must reprioritize.

Not safe from layoffs in this recession: the public sector

The unemployment report on Friday showed 53,000 fewer government jobs in September.

Seven cities that surprised in recession

Akron, Ohio, and Pittsburgh have done unexpectedly well, according to a new ranking of the best and worst performing cities. One lesson: There's more to economic activity than housing.

Bulldoze the 'burbs?

A Rust Belt city tries to shrink its way to success

Youngstown, Ohio’s groundbreaking plan for revival collides with recession and hard choices about neighborhood survival.

Housing starts drop sharply, surprising many

Which US cities will recover first?

Can energy efficiency brighten a dark economy?

Though part of the stimulus plan, it isn’t likely to create lots of new jobs anytime soon. Still, efficiency can have other big payoffs.