Did you know that the cost of doing business in America is about 20 percent — or an entire fifth — higher in American than it is for most of our trading partners? That was one of the eye-openers from today’s Heritage Bloggers Briefing discussion with National Association of Manufacturers president Jay Timmons.
Timmons briefed writers today on efforts to educate our nation’s policymakers to create a better environment with respect to taxes, regulation, energy, and torts — the “main drivers” of the excess costs that are making America less competitive. And since less competitive = fewer jobs and a slouching economy, it’s a message to which we should all listen, since as Timmons says, it’s “something we’ve done to ourselves.”
Timmons touched on one of our favorite topics: regulation. The agenda for red tape has “been highly aggressive” and “highly detrimental to manufacturers … and has added costs to cost of doing biz in United States,” he said.
On another of our favorite issues, Timmons said said flatly of the National Labor Relations Board, “their goal quite simply is to make a more hostile workplace.” And hey, who can argue otherwise with a straight face? (For more on his group’s lawsuit, click here — and for the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the President’s recent appointments, click here).
Manufacturing — like construction and retail and energy and agriculture and so many others — is key to creating jobs. But it won’t work if manufacturers have to leave America because there are too many hurdles.
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Manufacturing Jobs Requires Better Policy
Timmons briefed writers today on efforts to educate our nation’s policymakers to create a better environment with respect to taxes, regulation, energy, and torts — the “main drivers” of the excess costs that are making America less competitive. And since less competitive = fewer jobs and a slouching economy, it’s a message to which we should all listen, since as Timmons says, it’s “something we’ve done to ourselves.”
Timmons touched on one of our favorite topics: regulation. The agenda for red tape has “been highly aggressive” and “highly detrimental to manufacturers … and has added costs to cost of doing biz in United States,” he said.
On another of our favorite issues, Timmons said said flatly of the National Labor Relations Board, “their goal quite simply is to make a more hostile workplace.” And hey, who can argue otherwise with a straight face? (For more on his group’s lawsuit, click here — and for the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the President’s recent appointments, click here).
Manufacturing — like construction and retail and energy and agriculture and so many others — is key to creating jobs. But it won’t work if manufacturers have to leave America because there are too many hurdles.
For more reading, check out NAM’s blog at Shopfloor.org or its Twitter handle, @shopfloor_nam.