Assaults on U.S. manufacturers could stall economic recovery

Small manufacturers have the ability to turn the economy around provided they can compete on a level playing field. The trouble is, they can't.

From toolmakers to manufacturers of the largest machines, all are being hit with unfair competition from overseas that threatens to run them out of

The most recent MAC Index reports during the last 28 months in Connecticut alone, over 26,000 manufacturing jobs disappeared, taking with them companies that used to pay taxes and individuals who contributed to this State's economy. These jobs aren't being lost because of wasteful business practices. They are disappearing because of cheap foreign-made goods from countries where a living wage is, in many cases, pennies per hour.

It is the smaller manufacturers that feel the pain the most, especially those that provide subcontracting services to larger manufacturers. Work they once did is increasingly being sent overseas to countries where wage and pension requirements are nonexistent.