Post by RS Davis on May 7, 2004 13:22:01 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]Jude Blanchette Wrote:[/glow]
This does not mean that there is no role for government. In this respect, the articulators of the free-trade doctrine and the manufacturers find themselves in full agreement; the government should abolish the destructive and foolish policies that currently place American manufacturers at a competitive disadvantage.
Just as reports of strength in manufacturing have gone unnoticed, a recent and damning study prepared by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) similarly has received little attention. Entitled “How Structural Costs Imposed on U.S. Manufacturers Harm Workers and Threaten Competitiveness” (the verbosity of the title might explain the lack of exposure), this 30-page document should silence those who blame free trade for manufacturing's woes and argue that more laws are needed to protect industry.
The central finding by NAM is this: “While manufacturers have many challenges in the current global environment, it is the finding of this report that domestically imposed costs—by omission or commission of federal, state, and local governments—are damaging manufacturing more than any foreign competitor and adding at least 22.4 percent to the cost of doing business from the United States.”
In other words free trade, productivity, and all the other alleged demons of manufacturing do not compare with the damage wrought by a paternalistic government. Specifically the study examines five areas of increased internal costs: corporate taxation; health and pension benefits; actual or threatened tort litigation; regulatory mandates, particularly those related to workplace safety, pollution abatement, and corporate governance; and energy, particularly natural gas. Not surprisingly, the author finds that in all five areas the heavy hand of government has increasingly hampered domestic manufacturing.
Here are some other findings:
1) “The U.S. corporate tax burden reduces cost competitiveness by 5.6 percentage points”;
2) “U.S. employee benefit costs are higher than most of its major competitors”;
3) “The regulatory compliance burden on U.S. manufacturers is the equivalent of a 12 percent excise tax”;
4) “Pollution abatement alone reduces U.S. cost competitiveness by at least 3.5 percentage points.”
This does not mean that there is no role for government. In this respect, the articulators of the free-trade doctrine and the manufacturers find themselves in full agreement; the government should abolish the destructive and foolish policies that currently place American manufacturers at a competitive disadvantage.
Just as reports of strength in manufacturing have gone unnoticed, a recent and damning study prepared by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) similarly has received little attention. Entitled “How Structural Costs Imposed on U.S. Manufacturers Harm Workers and Threaten Competitiveness” (the verbosity of the title might explain the lack of exposure), this 30-page document should silence those who blame free trade for manufacturing's woes and argue that more laws are needed to protect industry.
The central finding by NAM is this: “While manufacturers have many challenges in the current global environment, it is the finding of this report that domestically imposed costs—by omission or commission of federal, state, and local governments—are damaging manufacturing more than any foreign competitor and adding at least 22.4 percent to the cost of doing business from the United States.”
In other words free trade, productivity, and all the other alleged demons of manufacturing do not compare with the damage wrought by a paternalistic government. Specifically the study examines five areas of increased internal costs: corporate taxation; health and pension benefits; actual or threatened tort litigation; regulatory mandates, particularly those related to workplace safety, pollution abatement, and corporate governance; and energy, particularly natural gas. Not surprisingly, the author finds that in all five areas the heavy hand of government has increasingly hampered domestic manufacturing.
Here are some other findings:
1) “The U.S. corporate tax burden reduces cost competitiveness by 5.6 percentage points”;
2) “U.S. employee benefit costs are higher than most of its major competitors”;
3) “The regulatory compliance burden on U.S. manufacturers is the equivalent of a 12 percent excise tax”;
4) “Pollution abatement alone reduces U.S. cost competitiveness by at least 3.5 percentage points.”
