National Manufacturing Policy Needed Now

A few weeks ago in a speech to the Detroit Economic Club, Dow

Chemical Co. CEO Andrew Liveris said what we need in this country is a national

manufacturing policy. “Let us never forget that the very life force and strength

of this great country begins here, in America's heartland,” he said.

He is absolutely right. What first made the U.S. strong was

a vibrant industrial and manufacturing base that drives innovation, technology

and creates jobs. Policy makers in Washington and those running for office seem

to have forgotten – or ignored – this

lesson. America’s heartland paid the

price with lost jobs and sagging economies. The U.S. economy has lost 3.7

million manufacturing jobs in the past 10 years – half a million just since the

end of 2006. The bulk those were in America’s heartland, but the impact is

nationwide.

The lack of a manufacturing policy – with teeth – is part of

the root cause of the economic disaster facing the U.S.

Neither presidential candidate has addressed this issue. With

the federal election just a few days away, it’s too late to bring it into

campaign rhetoric. Rebuilding the U.S.

economy isn’t going to be easy, but it can’t be done without a vibrant and

profitable manufacturing base.

During the Bush Administration, there were some half-hearted

steps. The creation of a toothless assistant secretary for manufacturing was

the most visible example. But this was window dressing. This time the policy

makers must do what manufacturers do best – make things that work. That means

not just tapping the manufacturing community for ideas. It means giving

manufacturing a real seat the table.

The manufacturing community has incredible talent. Harnessing this talent to rebuild the U.S.

economy is going to be important – to put people back to work, to develop

companies people want to invest in, to generate money people will spend on

houses, a night out or a vacation trip.

Manufacturing leaders must band together to send a strong

and united voice to policy makers in Washington. The manufacturing community is the key to

creating:

And, most importantly, communities that work.

The "only path forward is one of collaboration and

coordination, public and private sectors, Republicans and Democrats, industry

and environmentalists, working together with the goal of finding and removing

obstacles. And we need to start where the major challenges of our day

intersect, on manufacturing, on jobs, on energy and the environment,"

Liveris told the Detroit Economic Club.

I couldn’t agree more.

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