The Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte Development LLC recently released their annual public view on manufacturing in a report titled, “Made in America? What the Pubic thinks about manufacturing today.”
The report revealed that Americans continue to believe manufacturing is vitally important to our nation’s economy, with 78 percent saying it’s very important to our economic prosperity, 76 percent indicating that it is very important to our standard of living, and 65 percent believe it is important to our national security. If the general public were aware of how much all branches of the military depend on the manufacturing industry for the development and production of products and systems for the defense of our country, the latter figure would be equally high, if not higher.
Americans think we have the skills and resources to compete globally. In fact, they are “bullish on the skills and abilities of our workforce in the face of global competition.” The three sources providing the U. S. manufacturing industry with the greatest competitive advantages are: technology use and availability, a skilled workforce, and strong R&D capabilities. Energy availability, natural resources and our infrastructure were the next three important attributes of U. S. competitiveness.
They “think the strength of the workforce is one of the most important factors to our success.” The top three most important items to maintaining U. S. manufacturing competitiveness are: work ethic, a skilled workforce, and worker productivity
Americans want to strengthen the manufacturing industry, with 75 percent agreeing that the U.S. needs a more strategic approach to the development of its manufacturing base. Seventy-three percent believe the U. S. should invest more in the manufacturing industry, and 68 percent believe that developing a strong manufacturing base should be a national priority.
At the same time, Americans are concerned about the future of the manufacturing industry, and over half (55 percent) believe that the long-term outlook for manufacturing in the U. S. will weaken. This may explain the dichotomy of why 55 percent believe manufacturing provides careers that are both interesting and rewarding, and 44 percent believe that jobs offer a safe, clean environment, but only 30 percent would encourage their children to pursue a manufacturing career.
Americans are concerned that U. S. government policies are putting the manufacturing industry at a disadvantage in the global economy. The top three areas of concern are:
- State and federal government leadership
- Tax rates on individuals
- Government business policies
The survey didn’t delve deeper into these three areas of concern by respondents. An independent research company conducted the survey in June 2010 with a nationally representative sample of 1,055 Americans across the fifty states.
However, we can see that these three areas of concern have become key issues in the upcoming election in November. The September 30th issue of Manufacturing & Technology News contains an interview with Tom Mullikin, who helped organize the Nucor town hall meetings in the 2006 election and described voter anger in his 2007 book, Truck Stop Politics. He said that his book “attempted to capture the rage of a class of voters who feel they are sliding backward through no fault of their own. They are forced to downsize their expectations for achieving the American dream… They have a fairly accurate idea about why this is happening.” He said that if you went to a truck stop and tried to explain why we haven’t effectively dealt with Chinese cheating, like currency manipulation, “you will be met by disbelief and outrage. Capitol Hill has refused to deal with these issues for over a decade. Issues such as the unstoppable flow of jobs to other countries, the constant currency manipulation that makes American goods too expensive to sell to our trading partners, and the subsidies some foreign manufacturers receive from their government. The change the people of Truck Stop Politics were looking for is a change on these fundamental issues.”
He said, “this grassroots revolution has been years in the making… What every-day working Americans want to see is a government that ensures fair trade so they can have jobs, a clean environment and an ability to provide for their families.” He predicts “a storm surge of electoral activity in November,” and that “you will continue to see volatility in the electorate until we elect Members of Congress with conviction enough to address the real and underlying issues.”
His comments about fair trade are borne out by a poll conducted between September 22nd and September 26th for NBC and the Wall Street Journal. When asked if they believe that free trade agreements signed by the United States have led to the creation of U. S. jobs or the destruction of U. S. jobs, 69 percent said they cost the country jobs compared to 18 percent saying they created jobs.
When asked if they believe that free trade agreements helped the United States, hurt the United States or did not make much difference, 53 percent said they hurt, and only 17 percent said they helped. When asked the same question in 1999, 30 percent said they hurt, and 39 percent said they helped.
Perhaps the loss of 5.5 million jobs in the last decade has had an influence on this change of opinion. Let’s hope that American voters remember these issues when they go to the polls in November.