The warning signs are clear: without intervention and investment, the American manufacturing industry is in danger of extinction.
The United States used to be a country that made things: for over a hundred years, our economy was driven by the production of high-quality goods by American workers in American factories. And as Arianna Huffington has often commented, we are now a country that makes things up: speculation in collateralized debt obligations and mortgage-backed securities nearly led to the collapse of our economy in 2008.
In Northeastern Ohio's Mahoning Valley, where we were raised, the loss of thousands of manufacturing jobs in the '70s and '80s dealt a devastating blow to the region -- a setback from which we have begun to recover only recently and through painstaking effort. The plight of New York City's Garment District follows an all-too familiar and unfortunate trajectory that we are determined to reverse.
This week, we joined over 1,000 individuals at a rally in the heart of the Garment District to address growing concerns regarding the outsourcing of American jobs. The New York fashion industry employs 175,000 people -- over 24,000 in apparel manufacturing alone -- but these numbers have been slipping for decades. A microcosm of other domestic manufacturing industries, New York's fashion industry has seen many apparel manufacturers shut their doors as subsidized foreign goods and rising costs drove them out of business as production shifted offshore.
No longer a center of mass production, the Garment District is an economic cluster that links designers, suppliers, distributors and associated service providers - serving as an incubator for innovation that originates the ideas, styles and trends that will launch the next Ralph Lauren or Nanette Lepore. Nearly 850 fashion companies are headquartered in New York City (more than Paris, Milan, and London combined), and hundreds of small businesses -- from pattern makers and fabric cutters to button and trim suppliers -- support the designers that keep the American fashion industry dominant on a world stage.
Manufacturing's influence on the health of the American economy cannot be understated. If we are to retain our status as a world power, we must focus on the creation of sustainable manufacturing jobs that will support a strong middle-class. Whether we're talking about the production of steel or clothing, for every manufacturing job that is created in this country, up to six spin-off jobs are generated through supply and distribution chains. Manufacturing jobs pay a higher wage than service jobs, and create a significant amount of the patents that keep America's economy on the cutting edge of innovation.
If we allow these jobs to be outsourced, we take the engine out of the American economy. Economic prosperity is directly tied to our capacity to innovate, and innovation is directly tied to our ability to manufacture superior goods.
An important part of the solution is to ensure that our nation stands up for its own workers by enforcing trade laws that are meant to create a level playing field for American manufacturers. The first place that Congress and this Administration can start is by standing up to China's unfair and illegal intervention in currency markets. China's continued manipulation of its currency amounts to a de facto subsidy of up to 40 percent on all imports that arrive in the American market. This flagrant violation of international trade law undermines our middle class - stripping jobs from both the steel industry in Youngstown and the fashion industry in New York City. Thankfully, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed H.R. 2378, the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act, in September. If the Senate will take up H.R. 2378 when Congress returns to session in November, we can send this bill to the President for his signature and help to retain hundreds of thousands of sustainable American manufacturing jobs.
With the right federal, state and local policies, we believe that the American manufacturing industry can be renewed and improved. By promoting a comprehensive economic strategy, we can even bring back some of the jobs that have been lost. As the federal government continues to level the playing field and ease costs of production, corporate interests should commit to returning a portion of outsourced jobs back to the United States. And together we can educate consumers to make a conscious choice to purchase American-made goods -- providing opportunity for our young, creative entrepreneurs and good paying jobs for our citizens, whether they live in the Big Apple or the Buckeye State.
U.S. Congressman Tim Ryan was born in Niles, Ohio and represents the 17th Congressional District in Northeastern Ohio. Nanette Lepore was born in Youngstown, Ohio and is a well-known fashion designer based in New York City.
We need to repeal all of the "Free Trade" laws and other anti-business laws that were created in the last 40 years, and then the corporations (and/or individual businessmen) could not outsource the manufacturing jobs to foreigners because of the extremely high US import tariffs. We could re-impose extremely high US import tariffs to protect our US jobs.
The "Free Trade" laws and other anti-business laws that the US congress created in the last 40 years by our elected Democrat and Republican party members of the US congress and the US Senate allowed every US citizen, business, and corporation to ignore the plight of the US "blue collar" middle class worker.
I believe that the only financial beneficiaries of "Free Trade Legislation" were the foreign manufacturers, foreign workers employed in foreign factories, and the US consumers who benefitted from lower prices that were created from foreign imported products that were made with less expensive labor and less expensive environmental compliance costs! I cannot think of any other beneficiaries, can you?
I believe that most of the foreign manufacturers (and maybe some US importer-distribuitor-retailer's) paid US lobbyists to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on wine, food, women, song, vacations, cash, sexual services, corporate jobs for the (unemployable) children/wives/girlfriends of the congressmen and their aids who actually control the members of congress, and campaign contributions to entice (bribe) each of our US congressmen for the past 40 years to create all of these various "FREE TRADE LEGISLATION" and treaties that allowed, caused, and economically required our businesses to take advantage of the lower labor and environmental costs available in various foreign countries?
The members of that family can then reflect their real wealth and financial security with the net positive accumulation of grain, gold, cattle, jewels, land, buildings, factories, commodities and/or other marketable products for reserve use in times of emergency and/or also to raise the standard of living for the members of that family.
This created wealth accumulated before the de-industrialization of the USA and was previously available to be taxed in order to create funds for "pork barrel projects", "green projects", "infrastructure projects" and "social services".
US government administrations of both major political parties have killed and eaten that golden goose that laid those golden eggs and created the abundant lifestyle that US citizens enjoyed for a couple of decades after WWII.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nanette-lepore/save-the-garment-center_b_204420.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8e8_FwQq3A
They are great shoes btw and cost me no more than a pair of foreign-made ones.
China's Share of Advanced U.S. Manufacturing Market Soars
China, widely dismissed as a head-to-head economic competitor to America in advanced manufactured goods, has been seizing significant and often rapidly rising shares of the U.S. market...
http://www.industryweek.com/articles/chinas_share_of_advanced_u-s-_manufacturing_market_soars_22113.aspx
China close to catching U.S. in manufacturing
Analysis of the latest government readings by economic research firm IHS Global Insight show that China's manufacturing sector nearly caught the U.S. output in 2009. The value of goods produced by China's factories reached about $1.6 trillion last year, compared to $1.7 trillion by U.S. manufacturers.
...
Killion said that it is most likely China will pass the U.S. in manufacturing in 2011, but that it could be a "close call" this year.
http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/21/news/economy/china_us_manufacturing/index.htm
And as well...
China to lead global innovation by 2012
The Thomson Reuters World IP Today report: Patented in China—The Present and Future State of Innovation in China, predicts that China will overtake Japan and the United States to be the world’s leading innovator by 2012.
http://science.thomsonreuters.com/news/2009-02/8502354/
Engineers go where manufacturing is
when you offshore your mfg base, your reason for, and infrastructure to innovate goes with it
Rising health costs are also a contributing factor in wage stagnation
This excuse about there being too many regulations is just "tinkle down" propaganda from the likes of the US Chamber of Commerce, Koch brothers, republicans, tea partiers, etc. They and their backers want more and more of a slice of the pie, even though their associates already engage in widespread tax evasion.
40% of the new boeing dreamliner is outsourced - contributing to delays and quality problems.
if you fly regularly, take a look at what the planes are - Airbus (Europe - highly subsidised), Embrear - Brazil, Canadair - Canada. Russia is also regaining lost market in aerospace as well
1987 - $35.6bn
2007 - $66.6bn
AN EIGHTY-SEVEN PERCENT INCREASE EVEN AFTER ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION
US "chemical products" value add in 2005 dollars:
1987 - $145.8bn
2007 - $218.3bn
A FIFTY PERCENT INCREASE EVEN AFTER ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION
US "motor vehicles, bodies and trailers, and parts" value add in 2005 dollars:
1987 - $65.5bn
2007 - $120.6bn
AN EIGHTY-FOUR PERCENT INCREASE EVEN AFTER ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION
US "Computer and electronic products" value add in 2005 dollars:
1987 - $5.2bn
2007 - $248.7bn
AN ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE INCREASE EVEN AFTER ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION
US "plastics and rubber products" value add in 2005 dollars:
1987 - $35.6bn
2007 - $66.6bn
AN EIGHTY-SEVEN PERCENT INCREASE EVEN AFTER ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION
US "manufacturing" value add in 2005 dollars:
1987 - $864.6bn
2007 - $1709.8bn
A NINETY EIGHT PERCENT INCREASE EVEN AFTER ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.
http://wwwÂ.bea.gov/iÂndustry/inÂdex.htm
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FYI: We need to 'regress' to making that "stuff" here, too.
Just FYI.
l o l
What should we stop making in order to go into the business of underpants, T-shirts, small electronics and toys?
Now, he won't answer the following list of questioins.
RW111, over this same period--
How do these numbers correspond to worldwide demand growth?
What share of the worldwide market has the US gained?
What share of increased manufacturing productivity has been passed on to the US Worker?
What share of increased manufacturing productivity has been passed on to the US Treasury?
What share of increased manufacturing productivity has been kept for the corporate elite?
What share of multi-national manufacturing profits has been held abroad, to evade paying taxes?
Have you adjusted your figures to properly account for worrisome errors in BLS data, from which your figures are derived?
How many new US manufacturing jobs have been generated?
What risks are embodied in running a chronic trade imbalance?
What risks are embodied in depending on foreign sources of production?
What are the domino effects on the economy of wage stagnation, massive jobs loss, and widespread tax evasion by the ultra rich?
Regards
Say I make parts of my car in China, and assemble in the US--but I own both factories. Then, how is the final value-added assigned? It would seem to be abitrary. A finished car has a high mark-up over its constituent parts. If I did final assembly of a car in the US, it would inflate the value added on this end, while most of the actual work was done in a foreign country.
During the Great Depression we had bank failures, unemployment at 25%, and all related ills,
but we did have manufacturing then. So when Hitler rose to power and the allies needed
military equipment, we were able to supply it.
Nixon was the first to awaken the sleeping giant (China) and they have become #1 in manufacturing,
due to corporations outsourcing to increase their bottom line. I don't foresee that "educating the
public" to buy American will help because people will buy what they can afford. If that means Walmart, and China West, the public accepts that.
It doesn't seem so long ago that we saw nylons made in the south, carpets in Georgia, garments
in New Jersey, etc,etc. Then in the northwest the perfect trees were being shipped to Japan,
Oil from the North Slope shipped out. Not only our manufacturing but out natural resources are
going to the bolster that inevitable "bottom line". And we drown in unemployment.
US "chemical products" value add in 2005 dollars:
1987 - $145.8bn
2007 - $218.3bn
A FIFTY PERCENT INCREASE EVEN AFTER ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION
US "motor vehicles, bodies and trailers, and parts" value add in 2005 dollars:
1987 - $65.5bn
2007 - $120.6bn
AN EIGHTY-FOUR PERCENT INCREASE EVEN AFTER ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION
US "Computer and electronic products" value add in 2005 dollars:
1987 - $5.2bn
2007 - $248.7bn
AN ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE INCREASE EVEN AFTER ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION
US "plastics and rubber products" value add in 2005 dollars:
1987 - $35.6bn
2007 - $66.6bn
AN EIGHTY-SEVEN PERCENT INCREASE EVEN AFTER ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION
US "manufacturing" value add in 2005 dollars:
1987 - $864.6bn
2007 - $1709.8bn
A NINETY EIGHT PERCENT INCREASE EVEN AFTER ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.
http://wwwÂ.bea.gov/iÂndustry/inÂdex.htm
Today we'd all be naked without overseas sweatshops. And shoeless.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiQJ9Xp0xxU
i think the difference is that china is a communist country and germany is a social democracy. no, i'm certain that americans don't want to live under the harsh conditions in china (although we will be shortly) but they'd love living with some of the german safety nets.
americans like to brag that they live in the best country in the world but most of them don't even have their passports and couldn't afford to travel even if they did (gotta pay that for-profit health insurance that goes up 20% every year so a deserving CEO can give himself an extra mil) so they really have no idea what they are talking about.
they think of the europe that their grandparents fled in poverty. times have changed, folks. other countries have moved on while we were too busy sitting on our laurels
http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/lou.dobbs.tonight/popups/exporting.america/content.html