Obama establishes an Office of Manufacturing Policy (Welcome to USSR)
At a time when economists say U.S. manufacturing policy is in "disarray," the Obama administration on Monday said it has created a new Office of Manufacturing Policy to be co-chaired by the Commerce Department Secretary and the director of the White House National Economic Council. "At this make or break time for the middle class and our economy, we need a strong manufacturing sector that will put Americans back to work making products stamped with three proud words: Made in America," President Barack Obama said in a statement. Wisconsin leads the nation with the highest share of its workforce employed in manufacturing. The new office expands on a previous appointment for a government adviser on manufacturing, known as a "manufacturing czar." Washington has had no fewer than three such "manufacturing czars" installed as White House advisers in the course of two administrations. Ron Bloom, Obama's policy adviser on manufacturing, resigned in August. One of the two co-chairs will be Commerce Secretary John Bryson, giving the position cabinet-level influence for the first time. His co-chair will be National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling. "The White House Office of Manufacturing Policy will convene cabinet-level meetings to aggressively implement the Administration's priority manufacturing initiatives," according to the statement. Last week, the Washington, D.C.-based Council on Competitiveness became the latest business group to issue a report on the need for a manufacturing policy, saying policy is in "disarray." Even though manufacturing accounts for more than half of all U.S. exports, critics at the National Association of Manufacturing routinely complain that Washington devotes more time and resources to the nation's farm lobby, even though U.S. agricultural exports are only one-tenth the size of manufactured exports, the association says.
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