Manufacturing Crucial for Building New Economy   by James Parks, Oct 29, 2009

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Over the next decade, America is poised to invest $2 trillion in infrastructure, health care and a greener economy, but that money must be invested strategically to build a new economy, not just retool the current model, which is not working.

Speaking this morning at the Building the New Economy conference in Washington, D.C., AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said the global economic collapse requires us to think of long-term strategies to rebuild and restructure our economy, with a revitalized manufacturing sector at its core.                  

The one-day conference, sponsored by the Institute for America’s Future and the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM), is bringing together political, business, environmental and union leaders and economists to discuss the fundamental changes needed to create an economy that provides sustainable long-term growth and creates across-the-board prosperity.

In conjunction with the conference, the institute released a new report, “Making It in America: Building the New Economy: Where We’re Going. How We’ll Get There.” The report calls for a comprehensive approach to economic recovery that includes investing in education, rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure, creating a national policy to promote manufacturing and developing new energy technologies.

The cornerstones of a new economy must be significant public investment, a national industrial policy and a new global financial and trade strategy, various experts said. 

The nation has paid a high price for failing to invest in manufacturing, Trumka says:

Instead of paying workers to innovate and to make things we could export, the business of America has become finance.

Wall Street and transnational corporations have been defining U.S. financial and trade policy to fit their will. Their push for short-term profits has undermined domestic manufacturing and helped drive it offshore in a global race to the bottom.

United Steelworkers (USW) President Leo Gerard said the huge trade deficit, especially with China, was part of the cause of the financial meltdown. On trade, Gerard and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) called for a review of U.S. trade deals. Gerard said he would like to see a review of how much each deal, since 1994, has actually helped the U.S. economy.

The concept that cheap Chinese goods are good for our country is crazy. It’s led to lost jobs and devastated communities. [See video.]

U.S. Steel CEO John Surma said we could start changing our trade policies by actually enforcing the rules already in the deals. No company can compete with nations like China, which breaks the rules openly and gets away with it. The Obama administration must stay strong on China’s illegal dumping, currency manipulation and other trade violations, he said.

At the same time, we must reduce the trade deficit and not depend on China to finance our growing debt. Having China as our financial master and trading partner is a lot like Neville Chamberlain’s accommodation policies in World War II and will lead to destruction, he said.

Every major economic recovery has been driven by strong federal investment in infrastructure, DeLauro pointed out. Trumka agreed, saying:

Congress and the Obama administration must target resources to the industrial heartland, where we have the skilled workers, the engineering talent and the idled capacity.

Surma pointed to China’s recent investment of $600 billion in infrastructure development and the resulting economic boom as an example of the kind of investment that could pay off big in a short time in the United States.

It also is critical to pass health care reform, Trumka said.

We simply can’t have a robust economy when health care costs are sucking it dry, leaving little room for other investments and threatening the health and learning ability of the next generation to enter the workforce.

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