What Should the 'State of the Union' Propose for Creating Jobs in the U.S.?
Recently, Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) Executive Director Scott Paul weighed in with the Obama Administration on some key items that need to be included in any State of the Union proposals for job creation. Paul emphasized themes that AAM has repeatedly called for, including investment in American industry, innovation, infrastructure.
As the president prepares for the State of the Union tonight, it's widely expected that a large focus of the speech will be on the need to reorient the U.S. economy toward "making things again." This is a drum AAM has been beating for a long time, and it's good to see the White House embracing such a message.
TAKE NOTE: Scott Paul will be live tweeting the speech tonight from @ScottPaulAAM
Paul outlined AAM's “wish list” on Huffington Post last week, with some key points:
- Eliminate our trade deficit through boosted exports, vigorous trade enforcement, and penalties for China's cheating on currency, subsidies and intellectual property. Congress and the Administration should approach the trade deficit with more vigor--it will make balancing the federal budget a whole lot easier.
- Investment in our nation's crumbling infrastructure that goes well beyond the Recovery Act projects. Where's our next Hoover Dam, Golden Gate Bridge, Erie Canal? The answer right now, unfortunately, is somewhere in China. We need to think big on high speed rail, a smart grid, universal broadband, and more efficient transportation arteries and hubs.
- Buy America policies--perfectly within our rights--that ensure tax dollars are reinvested in American workers.
- Focusing on skills and training for industrial careers. Germany begins preparing its manufacturing workforce at age 16. We warehouse those kids. It's no wonder we are falling behind.
- Revitalizing our innovation base, which is also moving offshore. We need federal investment to connect our great research universities, domestic manufacturers, and best private labs to make sure that the next technical breakthrough is not only invented here, but made here.
- A better tax structure for domestic production. Taxes for manufacturers who keep their production and income in the U.S. are high compared to our competitors. We should not give a blank slate to corporations, but rather target tax breaks to companies committed to investing those savings domestically.
1 comment
Related recent Blogs
- Shoring up our security means addressing the China challenge • by mmcmullan • 05/20/2013
- Quote of the Day from Caterpillar's Doug Oberhelman • by LDonia • 05/20/2013
- May 20, 2013 Headlines: Manufacturing & social media, growth of the U.S. economy, and more. • by LRaup • 05/20/2013
- President Obama visits Baltimore factory to promote infrastructure investment as a means of revitalizing the middle class • by LDonia • 05/17/2013
- Five reasons you should be concerned about the U.S. military's reliance on foreign manufacturers. • by LDonia • 05/16/2013
- Looking for a manufacturing job? Consider heading to one of these ten metro areas! • by mmcmullan • 05/16/2013
- National Retail Federation dismisses global safety plan for garment factories while Cambodian shoe factory collapses. • by LDonia • 05/16/2013
- OPINION: Aren't we better off buying safe, Made-in-USA products? • by scapozzola • 05/16/2013
- U.S. Senate Passes Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) with Buy America Amendment Included. • by scapozzola • 05/15/2013
- And the crystal ball says that U.S. manufacturing is going up/down/sideways... • by scapozzola • 05/15/2013
Scott Paul
You are awesome. Out of 6 on your wish list, I have been complaining about 5 of them, for a few years now. I am very sick of China and abuse of currency rates. I personally feel that if that isn't corrected soon that we will be so far indebted to China...there will be no more America. Maybe there needs to be an inflated price on what we charge them to import their goods into our country in efforts to offset the imbalance. We can't boost our exports until there are jobs here to manufacture them.
I believe we should give tax breaks to corporations that BRING and KEEP jobs here, not to the companies that just have their headquarters here but offer nothing else. I like the idea of an open window time. Set an allotted time frame to move jobs here, the more jobs you bring, the better the tax break. Let that tax break be ongoing but under the conditions that more jobs within a reasonable rate have to continue to open up. Decline in jobs, lower the credit rate. Let that fluctuate by the opportunity that is presented. Throw in a grace period for good measure in the event of stagnancy.
If a 16 year old wants to work, lower the age for kids to start school. Our children should start an age of 4-5, this is a more reasonable age to start as children are more like sponges with information at that age. By 16 children can graduate and determine if they are college material. We struggle to keep them in schools now because we stall at their opportunity to learn at a young age.
Americans are great thinkers and hard workers that put great efforts into what they build... What have we done lately?
It is difficult to buy American made products....when not much is built or manufactured here. :-( Which makes us dependent on what another country is offering to us. That is sad, it shorts us of a balance of choice, trade, and cripples our opportunity to be competitive universally.