Life in Milwaukee was turned upside down for many working class families when the American Motors plant began to close their plant in Milwaukee in the late 70’s. Today, there are hundreds of thousands of Americans who are struggling to make ends meet, who are dealing with the same sort of challenges my family did when my Dad worked for American Motors, and returning to their roots in the democratic party.

I was a kid in the 70’s. Layoffs at the plant closing hit our family hard.

It wasn’t easy to get by back then. I was the oldest of 6 and can remember Dad coming home; his hands stiff, his eyes showing exhaustion. He would ride the bus to and from work each day where he would read his paper and I can imagine, try to figure out how we would make the next mortgage payment. When the foreman moved him to the sander it was an opportunity for a raise — but at a cost. He would stand all day long, holding a sander as water, that was meant to keep the sander grit from clogging, ran down his arms. When he would come home after work he would sometimes walk in the door, lay down on the couch where Mom would take off his boots and sleep until the next morning when he would wake up and do it all over again.

So why would I wax nostalgic about what was clearly not a great time for my family? The times that our family went through after Dad lost his job at AMC is the same thing that many American families are facing today as companies send more American jobs overseas.

The road that we’re headed down economically doesn’t look good for the middle class and it certainly doesn’t look good for anyone who works in a factory for a living. As those factory jobs disappear, more and more people will suffer from dire, in some cases crippling, poverty.

We can’t let that happen. With the Republican-led deregulation of the past 8 years, coupled with tax breaks for companies who move jobs overseas, we are standing at a dangerous crossroads.

It’s time to vote for change — real, substantive change. Republicans have shown us what their version of change is. Assuming the polls have any credence, democrats will do well and have an opportunity to enact their version of change.