No more taking risks with American job opportunities in the manufacturing sector that had lost jobs for ten years before gaining 500,000 job during the last three years, President Obama guaranteed to citizens in Asheville, North Carolina, on Wednesday, February 13th, the day after he laid out his plan to increase American productivity, and bring jobs back from foreign countries, in his State of the Union Address. A guarantee Rep. Duncan Hunter (R- San Diego) has not been able to turn into a deal San Diegans can count on.
The town that depends on defense manufacturing jobs that have shrank, and will take another hobbling cut after sequestration, has, in the past, seen old manufacturing communities turn into poor areas.
Incentives to add high technology positions in production are at the mercy of the Congress that will vote on Obama's proposals designed to get domestic manufacturers to join together and adopt advanced production technology. Plans to increase domestic productivity by lowering the tax on manufacturers to 25 percent, and using tax credit breaks for research and development, and for production, will please those legislators disappointed with lowered commitments to keep in the U.S. the origin for traditional American products like the tires produced in China in high volume by workers with poorly protected labor rights.
Future markets that take in American made products will add jobs to the U.S. economy, Obama says. There is high pressure to work out a legislative deal that broadens the domestic manufacturing base during the recovery. During the 112th Congress, Hunter worked with Brian Bilbray to propose encouraging people who invest in foreign business to reinvest profits made overseas into innovative American enterprise that produces jobs by giving them a higher tax deduction for the reinvestment, 100 percent instead of 85 percent. The two legilators also tried to lower regulatory burdens. The plan was to help San Diego drug and medical device manufacturers compete in the global market by prohibiting costly California inspections at their facilities.
Yet, to the two Republicans, jobs growth depends less on profitable company enterprise in San Diego, and in the rest of America, than it does consumer loyalty.
A global trade deficit Hunter agreed with former legislator Brian Bilbray stood at 726 billion dollars in 2011, up a 100 billion from the year before, has to make apparent manufacturing jobs growth in the domestic labor market is possible. The Republican pair's Buy American Week resolution that would have set up a 4th of July week in 2012 to encourage consumers to buy enough American products to make domestic manufacturing thrive was held off in Congress.
American workers have not been saved from foreign plans to make foreign produced products popular among the country's consumers. Obama is counting on tax incentives, and investments in production technology dissemination, that make the manufacturing market profitable, and jobs rich. He will still turn overseas across the Atlantic to South Korea, and south to Columbia and Panama, to increase trade in manufactured products.
Although the president has not said he plans on cornering domestic markets, even auto markets, he he did tell the country Ford is bring jobs back from Mexico.
The 5.2 million factory jobs lost from 2000 to 2010 did not end U.S. commitment to making manufacturing in foreign markets a the top priority that often comes before the domestic market that now contributes only 9 percent to the U.S. job market. A jobs market productive far below the 28 percent level workers experienced in 1960, and short of the low 13 percent seen in 2000.
Neglecting San Diego workers' declining labor market conditions has slowed down growth during the recovery. But, locals can not expect Hunter to join Obama on a plan that .. to close the jobs gap using advanced production that depends n the workforce in the domestic market "producing a lot with fewer people" to increase capacity to a level that is a key to American workers' ability to compete in the global market. "Americans getting more competitive, more productive."
There is a difference in American conscience. The President counts on a trend in "Americans getting more competitive, more productive," catching on. Hunter is willing tot take a step back to a time company ties to American workers were settled. And the consumer compact on buying products with the American label strong.
This is an On The Watch Take.
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