As Ohio goes

"As Ohio Goes is a journey through cities, suburbs, and remote rural towns in this quintessential American state. Sitting together at dining room tables, walking through roaws of planted fields, and swinging back beers at pubs, you'll meet individuals you won't soon forget. People like Bill, whose handicap did not push him to take disability payments until his layoff, and Rhonda, a working mother embarassed to feed her son using food stamps. There are the young soldier who shows us his scars from deployment to Iraq but who remains in the Army to make ends meet and the Amish man whose business loss during the downturn induced him to leave his family and the church. Together their stories personify today's timeliest issues, which Rana B. Khoury navigates in informative and accessible terms. From student debt and health care costs to female breadwinners and hyrdaulic fracturing, As Ohio Goes situates each story in a context that relates it to wider trends across the United States. Khoury pumps life into otherwise cold facts and figures, putting a human face on economic issues. If the old adage "as Ohio goes, so goes the nation" is right, then these stories tell us where the nation is headed. Although Ohio is a swing state, Khoury insists that blue and red do not capture the character of the place she calls home. Another reality demands attention: economic inequality has reached historic levels, and there is no indication that the trend will slow or reverse. The people in this book display remarkable adaptability, resilience, and love, despite their predicaments, yet the country's couse is the sum of individual fates. Where are Ohio and the nation going?"--Back cover.