These days stories that describe the ways in which America’s heartland is divided from its coasts are a dime a dozen. Growing up in manufacturing towns (Jed from Youngstown, Oh. and Ro from Bucks County, Pa.) and now living in the Silicon Valley, we’ve seen some of those differences. But, having met a new generation of businesses and entrepreneurs, we’re witnessing a bridge between the two: the evolution of additive manufacturing. Combining the DNA of a manufacturing town with a digital economy, this new industry shows policy makers and business leaders how we might start to bring our country together.
      On Sept. 19, 1977, Youngstown, Ohio experienced a foundational shift in its economy. Before the fateful ‘Black Monday,’ as many still call it, steel manufacturing paid living wages for a generation of adults, carrying them into the middle class. But on that day, one of the biggest steel producers, Youngstown Sheet & Tube, shut down and laid off thousands of employees. A town that was once 170,000 would see 40,000 jobs gone in the same decade. For many, remnants of that dark reality persist. In the last thirty years, median household income has remained flat at around $24,000 and the town has struggled to repopulate.
      In 1995, with the help of seed funding provided by the United States government, the Youngstown Business Incubator (YBI) was established. Their mission was not to bring back traditional steel mills, but to focus on companies innovating in the additive manufacturing space. As opposed to traditional manufacturing, additive manufacturing relies on layer-over-layer design and leverages information technology. This new kind of manufacturing reduces costs for companies like GE that build plane parts and helps biomedical manufacturers produce more precise biomedical devices. These kinds of companies tend to heavily populate the larger Mahoning Valley Region, in which Youngstown is located.
      So it is no surprise that today America Makes, the leading 3D printing institute in the nation and perhaps world, is based in Youngstown. Portfolio companies coming from YBI and America Makes have generated nearly $39M revenue and gainfully employed 1,842 people. In 2015, YBI was recognized as the number one high impact incubation program in North America.
      According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are currently 500,000 unfilled tech jobs in advanced manufacturing. A BCG report suggests that there will be an additional 900,000 in this sector due to the continual transformation of our economy. Many won’t require a traditional degree. Rather, the new jobs will require “adaptive skills,” including ones that require access to online technical information, ranging from controlling system queries to resolving issues in an automated diagnosis. “Adaptive skills?” What better term is there for a resilient Youngstown population with a burgeoning appetite for diversification.
      At a recent roundtable of venture capitalists and companies in Youngstown hosted by Congressman Tim Ryan (Oh.-13), his friend shared an interesting story. A father and his daughter were talking about the future of Youngstown. The father remarked, with an understandable cynicism, that decades of flat wages and job loss would not change overnight because of a handful of new companies. The daughter was more optimistic, saying that during her lifetime the city was steadily getting better, that the number of restaurants had jumped from a few to 17. Her father wasn’t wrong, but neither was she. There’s an undeniable optimism in young folks, whether in Youngstown, Oh. or San Jose, Calif. who are hungry for new opportunities. The scars of deindustrialization are not fresh in their minds. These kids are hopeful about their economic future.
      Let’s take steps to justify their optimism. We believe the government needs to aggressively expand our funding for public/private partnerships, and we need to double down on training a new workforce for the jobs of tomorrow. Companies and capital should reach young people in cities and small towns across America. They are ready for us.
      Ro Khanna is the Congressman for California’s 17th district, including Silicon Valley.
      Follow him on Twitter at @RoKhanna
      Jed York is the CEO of the 49ers football team. Follow him on Twitter at @Jed York