Gary P. Pisano, a Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, believes that now is the time for manufacturing to get the “special treatment” from the federal government that it deserves—and rightfully so.

Pisano says that while a “number of economists howled against [the] so-called ‘industrial policy’” outlined by President Obama in his State of the Union address, “the reality is that special treatment has always been a fact of life, and it would be naive to think that's suddenly going to change.”

And now Pisano believes it’s manufacturing’s turn to benefit from the “special treatment” that numerous industries including universities, health care, and private equity already receive. As he put it, “By subsidizing other industries so generously, we have tilted the scales away from manufacturing. Thus, the decline of manufacturing is not completely a result of "natural" market forces.”

To make his case for this “special treatment,” Pisano outlines a few of the most compelling reasons the government should give manufacturing a helping hand. These include lowering our trade deficit, strengthening our industrial base, retaining valuable R&D, and other common-sense arguments.

You’d be hard pressed to find as many compelling reasons for the government to provide special treatment to private equity—one of the industries that Pisano highlights as a a recipient of extensive government perks.

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