The Town That Jobs Forgot

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This is a very moving and engaging story about what happened to three women living in the small town of Millen, GA who lost their jobs after factories that the town depended on for the economic well-being of their residents either shut down or moved overseas.  One women was a bank Vice President, who worked for the bank for nearly 30 years before being part of a 6% layoff.  Another woman ran her own restaurant, but people could no longer afford to eat out and she was forced to close her business.  Up until then, her family had been doing well financially; they even built their dream house.  Never did she expect that one day she would have to apply for Medicaid to get health care for her children when they needed it.  (According to the show, 17 million middle class Americans are now on Medicaid).  The third woman had lifted her family out of poverty with a good factory job that she greatly appreciated until the plant closed down.  This is also a story about the children of the restaurant owner and the factory worker, who were forced to grow up fast and make grownup decisions about their own futures.  This is real reality programming, well done, life-affirming.  These women have done everything they can to get back on their feet.  What a story of guts, determination and inspiration.  Jacob Hacker,  Yale University professor, who was interviewed for the show, describes the town as a microcosm of what is going on with the job crisis in America– with twice as many African-American workers out of jobs (20% ) than whites and an even higher percentage of workers over 50 .  Hacker is quoted as saying:  "Millen's story is America's story."

Dateline NBC, 8/14/2011