Are manufacturing jobs important to our 10^th District?  It’s said we are becoming a “service economy”; an economy based on services, and that we should forget about manufacturing.  That is wrong!  Now, there are many who are very good at service jobs and we need them doing what they are best at and happy doing.  But, many of us are not service people.  I’d go nuts sitting on a phone all day, taking care of other’s needs, driving a truck, researching, repairing, etc.  Some of us need to be producing something.  That’s what we’re best at, be it a craft or mass production product; we are Manufacturers!

Having manufacturing in our area does more than just fulfill our joy in productivity, more than provide just the individual a job.  I own a manufacturing plant which makes industrial fans.  We actually make things out of metal and ship them across the country and around the world.  Here’s an insight; for every job I have in “the back” where they weld, powder coat, and assemble our Patterson Fans, there are four jobs in “the front”.  These jobs include Accounting, Sales, Marketing, Payables, Human Resources, and Management.  That’s a 4:1 ratio, meaning every job in manufacturing creates FOUR jobs in the rest of the company.  That is huge!  So, yes, manufacturing is very important to individuals who are manufacturers and for additional job creation in our district.

Given we need manufacturing, how do we become stronger in our jobs?  Ah, now we’re getting into the Problem Solving phase of the jobs issue, something our professional politicians never seem to do. 

In business, when we have a problem we look at three areas:  1. People 2.  Product  3.  Process. 

People – To solve a problem you have to have the right people involved; people who have knowledge, experience, and are passionate about the issue.  And who are these people in manufacturing?  They’re the ones who are manufacturers, not service people.  They’re ones who have been in manufacturing, studied it and know the difference between “cost added” and value added”.  They are the people who still have the American Ingenuity and Free Enterprise Spirit and aren’t afraid to try and fail, then try again, and again!  They have the spirit that built this country and its industry from the ground up without government involvement!  Those are the people we need involved in bringing jobs to our district.

Product – The product is jobs.  More to the point, in our culture the product is jobs that create wealth.  Not rich wealth, but wealth with which we can support our families and help us “get ahead in life.”  Here in lies a huge difference between the U.S. and Asia.  Let me explain. 

China is driven to create jobs for their people.  Their number one goal isn’t world domination but keeping their population busy.  I know; I’ve been there and talked to them.  They have to create 25,000,000 new jobs every year or they have a real problem!  Thus they (and other countries) will subsidize their industries just to keep their people busy.  (This is part of Communism and Socialism.)  In contrast, the United States has to create 1,524,000 a year to stay even.  But, we’re not about creating just jobs; we’re about jobs that create wealth and well being for our families.  That’s why every generation has done considerably better than their prior generations – up until now.

Has there been a problem with our jobs that create wealth?  You bet there has!  For too long we’ve been losing these jobs and not replacing them.  We need to create jobs that can’t be exported.  More to the point, we need to create manufacturing jobs that can’t be exported.