Hello again, On Apr 19, 2012, at 9:11 AM, Dr. Ernie Prabhakar wrote: > I think they are 100% correct. That is why any focus on protecting our > existing manufacturing industry would be vastly counterproductive.
More details from their executive summary: http://growth.newamerica.net/sites/newamerica.net/files/policydocs/Lind,%20Michael%20and%20Freedman,%20Joshua%20-%20NAF%20-%20Value%20Added%20America%27s%20Manufacturing%20Future.pdf > Public policy needs to focus on the imperative of revital- izing and > upgrading America’s manufacturing base, by methods that include: > > R&D and Technology Diffusion. Public policy needs to encourage private sector > R&D, including through a per- manent R&D tax credit. Public investment in R&D > and support for manufacturing should be financed in part by new federal > development banks and federally-favored municipal bonds. Breakthroughs in R&D > must be fol- lowed by development at scale and the diffusion of new > transformative technologies across sectors, with the help of government > procurement, credit and technology exten- sion programs. > > Infrastructure and Energy Strategy. In addition to these forms of direct > assistance, infrastructure and energy policies can indirectly retain or > onshore manufacturing in the U.S. by lowering the costs of energy and > chemical feedstocks and by reducing bottle-necks in the transportation and > commu- nications infrastructures. In addition to lowering the costs of > manufacturing, the energy sector, revitalized by natural gas, and the > construction of new, more efficient transporta- tion and communications > systems can provide sources of demand for domestic manufacturing firms. > > Tax and Regulatory Reform. Tax policy should encourage investment in American > manufacturing by foreign and domestic firms alike. Legacy regulatory systems > need to be updated as cutting-edge technology blurs or destroys the > boundaries among kinds of manufacturing or between manufacturing and services. > > Training Workers for Advanced Manufacturing Jobs. Rapid technological change > in manufacturing means that the U.S. needs a new social contract in education > which ratio- nally allocates responsibility for learning and upgrading skills > among government, employers and individuals. > > Promoting Mutually Beneficial Rather than Adversarial Trade. The U.S. needs > to do a better job of defending its industries against predatory policies by > mercantilist nations, without sacrificing the benefits of access to for- eign > markets and foreign talent. > These may not be the final answers, but they are very much on the right track. -- Ernie P. -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
