A Prosecco Analogy For the Failure of the Democrat's 'Build Back Better' Bill

Mark Blyth (Brown University) details how a local growth model led to the success of prosecco (Treviso's popular sparkling wine). He suggests that the 'torpedoing' of his party's key 'Build Back Better' bill by Democrat, Joe Manchin, occurred for similar reasons (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/dec/31/politics-prosecco-democrats-joe-manchin-key-bill). Prosecco is now presented as a product with an ancient tradition. It was developed, however, in the fascist era of 1924, in an attempt to improve local wines and increase their appeal to the middle classes. The village of Prosecco (after which the sparkling wine is named) was actually 150 km from the production area. Politicians expanded the denominazione d'origine controllata (DOC) to include the village, giving the product a claim to geographical exclusivity (like champagne). This was followed by a successful UNESCO World Heritage claim for the region. Prosecco is now the world's second most popular sparkling wine, with sales of 500m euros in 2019. Given the reliable jobs and wealth creation for the area, as Blyth maintains, 'few in Treviso are keen to dismantle the prosecco growth model'. Similar issues apply to West Virginia, represented by Joe Manchin. Thirty percent of West Virginia's gross domestic product comes from fossil fuels. The area also has the lowest labour force participation rate in the US and huge healthcare issues (related to chronic illness and opioid abuse). Fossil fuels (especially coal) are seen as part of their current local growth model. West Virginia is coal mining. Those who profit, will fight to defend the model, supported by powerful coalitions (no pun intended). Promises about retraining for alternative employments or improving health, will carry little weight. As Blyth says 'why should West Virginia and the other carbon states of the US, be any different' (from the prosecco example)? If true, this doesn't augur very well for getting needed changes in fossil fuel extraction and use anywhere!