WHere, where I come from, “economics” isn’t just about lines on a graph or numbers on a screen. It's about how much money people have in their pockets and how much their food costs. It's about how many shops are closed on their high street and whether they can afford the rent.

When Pennsylvania voters go to the polls next week, the economy will be a major drag on them. Our state will likely decide who will be the next president of the United States, and how we vote will also be a test of Joe Biden's policies. The economy is one of the top issues for voters in our state. Many of them will ask themselves: Am I in a better position now than I was four years ago?

I come from a family of steel workers near Pittsburgh. My father was a steelworker in the city, and so is my son. I am also a representative for United Steelworkers, one of our nation's largest unions. As you can imagine, the steel deal is the most important issue in town right now. Japanese steelmaker Nippon has been trying to buy US Steel for a year, and although the company has promised to honor US Steel's agreement with our union, we have many reasons to doubt it.

Not only is steel an essential part of our national security, raising questions about foreign takeovers, but there is nothing to stop the company from cutting union jobs a few years later. US Steel's CEO is set to receive $70m (£54m) if the deal goes through. It's the same pattern that repeats over and over again: the money stays at the top while the people at the bottom are forgotten.

I'm glad Kamala Harris has committed to preventing the sale. And I'm glad the Biden administration has questioned the value of such acquisitions. Look at the Chips Act or the Inflation Reduction Act: both were about stimulating investment in our economy and building manufacturing capacity in the United States.

For too long, globalization has meant a race to the bottom, with companies outsourcing labor and shifting production to where it is cheapest. Most workers work harder but are paid less: From 1973 to 2013, a typical worker's hourly wage increased just 9%, while productivity increased 74%. No wonder so many people are exhausted and struggling to stay afloat.

Here's the thing: Donald Trump says he gets it, but he doesn't. He talks about inflation killing our country under Biden, but he never says that record corporate profits are part of it driver of inflation. He talks about the housing crisis but then blames immigrants for the lack of affordable housing. He is a master at finding simple answers to complex problems, but he has no real solutions.

I think most people are smarter than Trump gives them credit for. Most people feel that the reason daily life has become so expensive is not just the war in Ukraine or supply chain bottlenecks. That's because companies got greedy and started using inflation as a cover to raise prices. If I can sell you a cup of water for $10, why would I lower the price to $7? Pennsylvania Democratic Senator Bob Casey has explicitly advocated for “greed inflation.”

It feels like the message is getting through, but I know that many steelworkers will still vote for Trump even though almost all unions supported Harris. Where I live is rust belt area. It's a place where coal, steel and cars once boomed. It is a place that has struggled to reinvent itself following the decline of the manufacturing industry and has lost many jobs.

We have been suffering since the pandemic. I live in Washington, a city south of Pittsburgh, where I am also the local mayor. I have seen how the shift to working from home has hurt some of our small businesses and how our healthcare workers have suffered due to Covid-19.

But I also see the positive impact that Bidenomics has brought to our community, and I hope that it will prevail. One of the biggest complaints I hear from residents now is, “Why is there so much construction going on?” We can’t cross the street!” Thanks to a huge increase in federal spending and the Inflation Reduction Act, which allocated billions of dollars to support infrastructure projects, there are many more cranes than before.

I always say this is infrastructure money working for us. When the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed in Pittsburgh, it was rebuilt in record time. Pennsylvania is particularly well-positioned to benefit from federal investment because it is the second-largest energy producer in the U.S. after Texas, and we need this climate spending if we are to transition to a clean energy economy. I just hope other voters feel the same way.

• JoJo Burgess is a steelworker in Pennsylvania and a member of the United Steelworkers union. He is also the mayor of Washington, Pennsylvania

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