The Heartland Keeps Beating
Following a period of strong growth in the 1960s, the Midwest began a protracted period of decline in the 1970s. By the early 1980s, the terms “Rust Belt” and “Midwest economy” had became synonymous. However, based on its performance since the mid-1980s, and especially during the 1990s, the Midwest is now better symbolized as the “Heart of America.” Since 1990, the economic growth of this industrial heartland has been leading the nation in many sectors.
