New Rules Aim to Boost American Exports

New Rules Aim to Boost American Exports

Daniel Dombey, writing in the Financial Times, explains the likely impact of new rules aimed at promoting American exports. Dombey explains that the the new rules streamline the process and resolve some bureaucratic turf wars between the Commerce and State Departments. Dombey also notes that the administration is pushing for legislation that would create a [...]

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Chicago Manufacturing Index Falls

Chicago Manufacturing Index Falls

The Chicago Regional Manufacturing Index fell fell to 56.7 this month, the lowest since November, from 62.3 in July. Figures greater than 50 signal expansion. Here is the Bloomberg story. – The Editors

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Manufacturing Up, Housing Down

Manufacturing Up, Housing Down

The Washington Post‘s Neil Irwin notes that while the housing market remains in a slump, the manufacturing sector is doing reasonably well. Here is a snippet from the article. The diverging fortunes of the industrial and housing sectors reflect a combination of factors, most notably the excesses of housing construction during the mid-2000s that continue [...]

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Obama Promotes Clean Manufacturing in Wisconsin

Obama Promotes Clean Manufacturing in Wisconsin

President Obama’s was in Wisconsin today speaking at ZBB Energy. The full text of his remarks can be read here. Here are a few key graphs: Few parts of the economy were hit harder than manufacturing. Over the last ten years, the number of people working in manufacturing shrank by a third. This has left [...]

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America’s Wind Manufacturing Industry

America’s Wind Manufacturing Industry

Wired has a story today on “The Birth of a U.S. Win Power Manufacturing Industry.” The story cites a World Resources Institute paper called “It Should Be A Breeze: Harnessing the Potential of Open Trade and Investment Flows in the Wind Energy Industry,” which claims that the American wind power industry prefers sourcing domestically because [...]

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President Obama Signs Manufacturing Enhancement Act of 2010

Play the video above to see the President’s remarks upon signing the Manufacturing Enhancement Act of 2010. – The Editors

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More Training and Education Needed to Support Manufacturing

CBS News has an article today on the shortage of skilled labor in the American economy, one factor that has prevented firms from hiring more workers. And she’s not alone. The government says there are 227,000 open manufacturing jobs, more than double the number a year ago. One hundred eighty-three thousand have been created since [...]

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Make It In America

Make It In America

Here is a link to the Make it in America section of the House Majority Leader’s website. – The Editors

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Dems to Push Manufacturing in September

Dems to Push Manufacturing in September

Institute for America’s Future President Robert Borosage writes that the Democrats will take further steps to support U.S. manufacturing in September. He says that When they return in September, the Democratic majority plans to push a legislative agenda that takes the first steps toward reviving U.S. manufacturing. Specific elements are still being determined but are [...]

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A Response to Bhagwati

Yesterday, we posted a short article from the Financial Times by Jagdish Bhagwati that argued against emphasizing the role of manufacturing in the recovery. Today we post a response to that article by Ken Jarboe at The Intangible Economy. Jarboe writes that boosting manufacturing also means boosting services, both direct manufacturing-related services and indirect services. [...]

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The ‘Small Business’ Myth

The ‘Small Business’ Myth

New America Foundation/Smart Globalization Initiative Chairman Leo Hindery, Jr. explains that the 20+ million new jobs we need will not come exclusively from small businesses, despite popular belief. Here is a snippet from Hindery’s article: Twenty-two million new jobs, which is what we need for our workforce to be “fully employed” – i.e., no more [...]

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Bhagwati’s Case Against Manufacturing

Bhagwati’s Case Against Manufacturing

Jagdish Bhagwati, writing in today’s Financial Times, says that the United States is placing too much emphasis on manufacturing. He argues that manufacturing is no more capable of producing innovation than the service and agricultural sectors. He says: Underlying the current prejudice is the unwarranted presumption that manufacturing industries are technically more innovative than both [...]

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California Gubernatorial Candidate Unveils Jobs Plan

California Gubernatorial Candidate Unveils Jobs Plan

Jerry Brown, the Democratic candidate for governor in California, released a jobs plan that includes a ten-year plan to extend tax credits to promote green manufacturing. The plan can be read on Brown’s website, here. Here is a section of the Los Angeles’ Times analysis of the plan: The bulk of the document and the [...]

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AEM Calls For Government Action to Create Jobs

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers is calling on Congress to do more to add jobs to the manufacturing sector. Here is a snippet from the press release: “Our economy is stuck at 9.5 percent unemployment, and Congress should be pulling out the stops to put America’s middle class back to work in the manufacturing industry,” [...]

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