Bob Vavra

Stuck in the middle with you...
December 12, 2007

1. Clowns to the left of me: I leave for a few minutes (compared to Chicago, South Florida is great this time of the year) and truly stupid things come out of people’s computers. This week, we won’t start with Lou Dobbs. Here’s Scott Paul, director of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, commenting on the decline in manufacturing jobs from 14.9% of employment to 13.1% of employment: “Until our trade laws are enforced and our government decides to value domestic production, we’ll continue to see more layoffs and more Americans sliding down the scale to low-pay service jobs.” 
In fairness, Paul also appreciates the value of manufacturing jobs, but the issue is not the level of domestic production. We have fewer workers because we need fewer workers to do the work we have, and because we haven’t valued education and innovation to create and grow new jobs for the future. The rest of the world has caught us for engineering skill and have tremendous numbers of young engineers coming out of schools at twice to three times the rate in the U.S. If you want manufacturing to grow in an automated, global economy, you need to value engineering, educate young engineers and give them the freedom and the capital to innovate.

2. Jokers to the right: Lou Dobbs got picked on by Los Angeles Times media critic Tim Rutten, who noted that immigration, long Lou’s rallying point as the single biggest issue facing nation, was being played in the recent CNN debate for ratings, not for its value as a true issue in America. Noting national surveys that indicate that Iraq, energy and economic issues all rank much higher higher than immigration as an issue among voters, here’s what Rutten wrote: “It seems pretty clear that CNN ignored these complex and highly relevant concerns for an issue that served its ratings interests -- immigration -- or ones that made for moments of conventional television conflict, like gun control, which doesn't even show up in surveys of voters' concerns.”

Lou went nuts. I mean serious, mad-prophet-of-the-airwaves loco the next chance he got. Here is an excerpt from his show last week: “The Los Angeles Times this weekend published a personal, elitist, out-of-touch column by a hack liberal advocate posing as a media critic... We offended that little liberal lily. Not only was Rutten apoplectic that presidential candidates would actually have to deal with the issue of illegal immigration, but Rutten's tortured mind crushed his own sense of reason and managed to conclude that CNN focused on illegal immigration to create a larger audience for me.”

Coming from a elitist, out-of-touch, hack neo-populist advocate posing as a journalist like Lou Dobbs, I’m sure Tim Rutten took it as a compliment. You’re right, Lou. It’s not about your ratings. It’s just about you. But don’t forget to plug the book.

3. Here I am, stuck in the middle with you: Here’s what was said this week at the opening of the new Siemens electric motor manufacturing plant in Norwood, OH:

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland: "Ohio's economic prowess has been driven by manufacturing. And investments by global manufacturing companies such as Siemens represent the future of Ohio's economic landscape."

Ohio U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt. "American workers are the best in the world, their education and skill level are great assets in the global marketplace. Siemens realized this, and their investment will pay dividends for both Ohio workers, and their shareholders.”

Dennis Sadlowski, president and CEO, Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc.: "With the strong workforce here in Norwood and the expansion complete, Siemens is confident the Norwood facility will remain a center of excellence for the company by producing the highest-quality motors for our customers and driving motor technology innovations that will dramatically improve the efficiency of manufacturing throughout the world."

See that? No one’s blaming illegal immigrants. No one’s complaining about trade laws. No one’s asking the government to intervene beyond offering economic incentives that will be repaid many times over in jobs and economic support for the community and the state. You just roll up your sleeves and get at it.

4. These aren’t easy times: What I find fascinating about the debate over American manufacturing is that it has been conducted as a way to polarize the factions involved and isolate the United States in a struggle for control of manufacturing against the rest of the world. Major manufacturers such as Siemens sees the global potential of a global manufacturing economy, one where a new middle class emerges from an agrarian economy – or exactly what happened in the U.S. at the turn of the last century. Until we realize fully that we are in a global economy to stay and begin to embrace the frightening possibilities and unlimited potential that goes with it, we’ll continue to blame someone.

5. And here’s an example of how it’s done: If you want to understand the potential of the American worker, and of manufacturing as a whole, read this story in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. It says it better than I can about what is possible, and what is already realized in manufacturing.

Posted by Bob Vavra on December 12, 2007 | Comments (4)