The lightbulb suddenly alights! 2

[rhodie]

Bush Vows to Help Restore Lost Manufacturing Jobs


By Steve Holland

RICHFIELD, Ohio (Reuters) - Feeling political heat over lost manufacturing jobs, President Bush (news - web sites) marked Labor Day on Monday with the promise he will work to ensure nations attracting U.S. factories overseas have fair trade policies.

About 2.5 million of the 3 million U.S. jobs lost since Bush took office in January 2001 have been in the manufacturing sector, and Democrats hoping to unseat him in the 2004 election are using that to say Bush has been a failed steward of the U.S. economy.

Acknowledging that "there's a problem with the manufacturing sector," Bush said he had directed Commerce Secretary Don Evans to appoint an assistant secretary of commerce to focus exclusively on the needs of manufacturers.

"One way to make sure the manufacturing sector does well is to send the message overseas ... We expect there to be a fair playing field when it comes to trade. See, we in America believe we can compete with anybody just so long as the rules are fair, and we intend to keep the rules fair," he said.

Bush donned a union cap as he spoke to the International Union of Operating Engineers at a heavy equipment training site on a gray, rain-soaked day.

He did not single out any countries for increased scrutiny, but U.S. manufacturers are pressuring the Bush administration to protect American jobs against what many see as unfair Japanese and Chinese currency policies.

U.S. companies complain Japan keeps its yen currency artificially low by intervening in currency markets to prevent its appreciation, while China's fixed currency peg has the same effect of giving its products an unfair trade advantage.

Major U.S. business and labor groups said on Friday they might ask the White House for an investigation of alleged currency manipulation by China, a move that could trigger trade sanctions if a negotiated settlement cannot be reached.

The trade complaint by the National Association of Manufacturers (news - web sites) and some 80 other groups would be the first of its kind based on currency intervention, experts said.

The so-called Section 301 complaint, if filed, could markedly escalate the bilateral dispute, which U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow plans to raise with Chinese officials in meetings in Beijing this week.

Determined to avoid the fate of his father, who won the 1991 Gulf War (news - web sites) only to lose re-election in 1992 in a presidential campaign that hinged on the economy, Bush touted his economic agenda in Ohio, a key Midwestern state he won narrowly in the 2000 election. He was to repeat the message in Missouri and Indiana this week.

Democrats said Bush's upbeat message did not match the nation's mood.

Ohio Democratic Rep. Sherrod Brown (news, bio, voting record) said his state had been particularly hard-hit by job losses, with nearly 200,000 private sector jobs gone since January 2001.

"And what is President Bush's response to this unprecedented job loss? More tax cuts for the most privileged people in our society," Brown said.

Bush said the economy was showing solid signs of a rebound, pointing to recent reports that economic output is rising and consumer confidence is up. Job creation has lagged despite these positive factors, however.

"I believe there are better days ahead for people who are working and are looking for work," Bush said.

-END-

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=578&ncid=578&e=2&u=/nm/20030901/ts_nm/bush_dc

 

[rhodie]

I get the Bonehead Award for misusing the word "alights". I should have used "brightens".

Apologies in advance.

rhodie

 

[TheTick]

rhodie: Perhaps it's just a new "Bushism".

 

[FrenchCAD]

LOL

Cyril Guichard
Mechanical Engineer

 

[EngineerDave]

Bush isn't to blame for this. There are issues far larger than the leader of the country involved. The decline started early in the Clinton era.

 

[TheTick]

Or was it the Eisenhower era?

 

[arunmrao]

Clinton gave the Chinese MFN status. Today there is a report by Forbes that India is the most favored destination for American businesses.

 

[rhodie]

Bush isn't to blame, but he is now resposible for it. The reason this article is relevant lies in the fact that the current administration has skipped around the true cause of the "economic downturn" for a year. Now, with this "revelation", they've seemed to nail it on the head.

No one, and I mean NO ONE, was talking about this problem 8 months ago. Now, it appears the economy/trade practices/labor problem is going to be the cornerstone of many canidate's platform in the coming election.

 

[funnelguy]

rhodie,
You know I sympathize with you on these trade issues. I think your optimism is somewhat premature. There will be no cattle with the hat on this issue, IMO.

I was no fan of Clinton, but he didn't exactly dump NAFTA and MFN status on China by himself. Both sides of the aisle lined up to declare their support for both of these policies. (That should have been our first warning! ) Bush is only responding so as to plug a political hole in his dike. His advisors now feel he may lose votes if he doesn't stem the Dem's tide of criticism toward the "jobless recovery". Dubbya will only do what he feels is required to "dehorn" his attackers. This is not a core belief issue for him. Re-election is.

The sad truth is that both political parties have favored our trade practices up until this point. Or at least they have favored the campaign contributions they generated. The people who have spoken against our current policies have been marginalized and derided by most media sources.

I don't believe him. I doubt his sincerity. The GAO has consistently issued numbers showing the damage NAFTA was causing. Why is he only concerned now?

End of Rant... The light you see at the end of the tunnel is the headlight of an oncoming train.

 

[buzzp]

Yes, its amazing what proximity to presidential elections brings - real issues.

 

[Maui]

And how quickly the promises they made are forgotten. Remember when George Sr. said, "Read my lips - no new taxes."? Maybe Geroge W's slogan will be , "Read my lips - no more lost jobs overseas."


Maui

 

[buzzp]

Hehe. I believe, as most others, that it is not party specific either. Bring on a good honest canadidate that has screwed up in the past and will openly admit it. This is the person I would vote for. Maybe I should lay down all my wrong doings(lots of them) for all to see and run for President.

 

[sc]

Golly gosh in the US you have bush saying "read my lips", in Australia our little Johnie says "non core promises".

Wouldn't it be a refreshing change to have a politician (or party) stick by what theya ctually said.


sc

 

[funnelguy]

But I would LOVE to be proven wrong about my prognostications. Hope springs eternal?

 

[rhodie]

I really hope these aren't typical "campaign promises". I'd be foolish if I thought otherwise.

I'm pretty disenfranchised with US politics on all levels. Too many people ignore the "Law of Net Harm", and legislate based upon situational ethics.

 

[StressGuy]

Indeed, there should be little wonder why the vast majority of people of my generation (gen-x, I suppose, who are now in our 30's) who feel general apathy to our political system. I've previously been a Republican, more so for social issues than economic. But I'll have to admit that I don't know who I'll be voting for this time around.

I used to believe in the supply side concept, and I think it probably worked a generation ago. But, I think that the Ken Lay and Worldcomm style of corporate ethics are a lot more common now. These guys seem to think they're some kind of geniuses for "lowering costs" by shipping these jobs overseas, never bothering to see that a few quarters down the line, there are going to be even fewer customers for their products with all those laid off Americans not buying anything.

Edward L. Klein
Pipe Stress Engineer
Houston, Texas

All opinions expressed here are my own and not my company's.

 

[EngineerDave]

Neither Democrats or Republicans have the answer on this one.

I'll vote for Bush again because of national defense. I simply don't think the Democrats have any solid policies when it comes to this area.

Neither have the answer for the current economy.

 

[PSE]

My suggestion would be for all the laid-off, terminated, downsized or whatever buzzword cost you your job engineers to run for political office! Engineers are problem solvers and who would be better qualified to clean up the mess created by the political professionals (or professional politicians) that we get to choose from nowdays. Likely scare the bejesus out of some of the politicos. Then again, the public might not know how to react to someone who actually told them what they (the candidate) thought rather than what they figure the audience wanted to hear.



Regards

 

[StressGuy]

A fine idea, but a laid off engineer struggling to keep his family fed and find a new job is not likely to be able to raise the millions of dollars needed these days to buy their way into political office.

No money = No electability.

Edward L. Klein
Pipe Stress Engineer
Houston, Texas

All opinions expressed here are my own and not my company's.

 

[PSE]

Stressguy,

That's where those public donations come in. Right along with those governmental matching funds. Whether an engineer could tolerate the political processes would be a whole different thread.

Regards,