Clinton's Manufacturing Agenda- by Jerry Jasinowski
At a recent conference on manufacturing issues, Secretary Clinton's economic advisor Gene Sperling, who served in a variety of roles in the last two administrations, made a compelling case that the Democratic candidate is fully committed to manufacturing. He cited manufacturing's outsized role in the economy - it punches above its weight, he said - and in particular its leadership in research and development, exports and creation of high wage jobs.
Sperling rebutted criticism from the right that government should let the private sector go its own way. It isn't a matter of picking winners and losers, he said, but rather of maintaining the supply chain. He observed that Ford Motor Company supported government support of General Motors and Chrysler, Ford's major competitors, because if those companies went down, they would take with them the vast supply chain that all auto makers depend upon. Sperling listed six items on Clinton's manufacturing agenda:
•A strong recognition of the importance of manufacturing to the nation and expanded commitment of $10 billion in support of the manufacturing hubs created by President Obama. This is an effort to revive existing industries and create new ones to translate her "Make It In America" policy into a reality.
•Strict enforcement of trade agreements. Other nations routinely violate their trade agreements but then it takes months or years to adjudicate the disputes during which time the damage to U.S. companies is already done. Sperling said the Trans-Pacific Partnership fails this test. Sperling said that under a Clinton Administration, there would be rapid and serious response to predatory trade practices such as currency manipulation, dumping and restrictions on imports from the U.S.
•Sperling says Clinton is keenly interested in skills training for workers, with her primary focus on apprenticeships in which trainees obtain hands on experience in the craft they are pursuing, preferably while being paid. Clinton also wants to focus on a two-year tech training program in conjunction with Community Colleges.
•Sperling says that a Clinton Administration would propose tax policies based on location that reward companies for increasing capital investment and creating jobs in the U.S. Moreover, Clinton has proposed significant tax incentives to encourage small business and entrepreneurs.
•A Clinton Administration would actively support a massive investment in updating the country's infrastructure which would certainly boost productivity and competitiveness. The Clinton program would include provisions for buying U.S. made goods and services and hiring U.S. workers.
•Finally, the Clinton Administration would promote an active "prevention strategy" to be aware of pending closings of major manufacturing facilities, make every effort to avoid such closings, and where that is not possible to provide for support for affected communities and displaced workers instead of just leaving them on their own.
This strong set of manufacturing proposals should be augmented with tax cuts and regulatory reform to increase economic growth and job creation, augmenting badly-needed consumer demand.
Jerry Jasinowski, an economist and author, served as President of the National Association of Manufacturers for 14 years and later The Manufacturing Institute. You can quote from this with attribution. Let me know if you would like to speak with Jerry. September 2016