Kerry Campaign Releases Report on Manufacturing Jobs 4/27/2004
From: Kathy Roeder of John Kerry for President, 202-712-3000; http://www.johnkerry.com WASHINGTON, April 27 -- Following is the text of a report on manufacturing jobs released today by John Kerry for President: REPORT ON MANUFACTURING JOBS: GEORGE BUSH'S MANUFACTURING CRISIS America has lost 2.8 million manufacturing jobs under President Bush, while George Bush has done virtually nothing. As a result this crucial sector -- which pays higher wages and is responsible for the majority of research and development -- is in the worst crisis in over eighty years. I. THE LARGEST DECLINE IN MANUFACTURING IN OVER EIGHTY YEARS 2.8 million manufacturing jobs lost under President Bush -- every single month of his Presidency and any manufacturing job gains. Since the Bush Administration began, 2.8 million manufacturing jobs have been lost an average of more than 70,000 per month. There has not been a single month of the Bush Presidency with job gains in manufacturing. (BLS) 7 million jobs short of President Bush's prediction. Annual job growth projections in the 2002 Economic Report of the President implied job growth of about 5 million between January 2001 and March 2004. Instead we have lost about 2 million jobs. As a result, we are some 7 million jobs short of the prediction President Bush made after 9/11, the tech bubble, and the recession. (BLS and Economic Report of the President, 2002) Jobs in growing industries pay $9,000 -- or 21 percent -- less than jobs in contracting industries. A study by the Economic Policy Institute found that jobs in industries that are expanding as a share of the workforce pay $9,000 less than jobs in contracting industries -- 21 percent less. (Economic Policy Institute, "Jobs Shift From Higher-paying to Lower-paying Industries," 1/21/04) A record $490 billion trade deficit in 2003. The trade deficit last year reached a record $490 billion -- with a $549 billion trade deficit in goods (or $401 billion excluding oil). The trade deficit was 5 percent of GDP also a record. Forty percent of our public debt is now held outside the US; more than 20 percent in Japan and China alone. (BEA & Census, Treasury) Record $124 billion trade deficit with China -- which manipulates its currency. The United States had a $124 billion trade deficit with China in 2003, a 20 percent increase on the trade deficit last year and the largest bilateral trade deficit of any country. China's currency manipulation -- which many economists believe undervalues the Yuan by approximately 27.5 percent -- contributes to this ballooning deficit. (Census) Exports are down under President Bush -- the first President since the Great Depression. Exports have fallen in inflation-adjusted terms under President Bush -- the first drop under any President since Herbert Hoover in the Great Depression. In contrast, most post-World War II Presidential terms have seen 15 to 30 percent real export growth. (BEA) Surpluses in advanced technology products have turned into rising deficits. From 1989 through 2000 the United States had a trade surplus in advanced technology products. This has since turned into a growing deficit: rising from $17 billion in 2002 to $27 billion in 2003 -- a 66 percent increase in one year alone. (BEA and Census) Outsourcing has grown while insourcing has collapsed. Between 2001 and 2003 foreign investment in the United States from $144 billion to $72 billion -- a 50 percent drop. At the same time, America was investing more abroad: rising from $104 billion in 2001 to $136 billion in 2003. As a result, America when from a net inflow of $40 billion of foreign direct investment in 2001 to a net deficit of $64 billion in 2003. (BEA) II. WHY MANUFACTURING IS CRUCIAL FOR THE AMERICAN ECONOMY Manufacturing jobs pay 50 percent more than non-manufacturing jobs. In 2002 the average compensation for manufacturing jobs was $55,000 -- compared to $35,000 for non-manufacturing private-sector jobs. That is more than 50 percent higher. (Bureau of Economic Analysis) Each manufacturing job supports 4.2 additional jobs throughout the economy. Manufacturing jobs create jobs in everything from the mining needed for raw materials to the transportation industry that moves the goods and the retail stores that sell them. In total, each manufacturing job supports 4.2 additional jobs throughout the economy -- nearly three times the rate for the business and personal services sector. (Office of Senator Joseph Lieberman, Making America Stronger, September 2003) Each dollar spent on manufacturing results in an additional $1.43 in spending on other products and services. In contrast, the comparable multiplier for spending on information products is $0.80 and for spending on financial & business services is $0.50. (Joel Popkin and Company, Securing America's Future: The Case for a Strong Manufacturing Base, 2003) Productivity growth in manufacturing is 50 percent higher than the economywide average. Productivity growth in manufacturing from 1989 to 2003 was 3.6 percent annually -- compared to 2.2 percent annually for non-manufacturing. (Bureau of Labor Statistics) Manufacturing is responsible for two-thirds of all private-sector R&D -- $127 billion in 2002. (Popkin) Manufacturing is responsible for 90 percent of patents. (NAM) Manufacturing is critical to America's national defense. Manufacturing is not only critical for Americas economy, it is also responsible for producing the critical components of the national security systems that keep America safe. But America is becoming increasingly dependent on foreign suppliers for critical parts and components of weapons systems, such as laser diodes, gallium arsenide (a high-performance semiconductor used in high-speed chips for military applications), and charge-coupled devices -- the heart of modern digital imaging equipment and missile guidance systems. Last year we learned that an Indiana plant manufacturing a key component for "smart bombs" was closing down and moving its production to China. III. GEORGE BUSHS FAILURE TO FIGHT FOR MANUFACTURING JOBS Failing to enforce our trade agreements. President Bush has completely failed to enforce our trade agreements. Some of the major failures: -- Under President Bush, America has become a Punching Bag: The US has been the target of almost one-third of all WTO cases filed since January 2001. -- After finding scores of Chinese WTO rule violations in 2001, 2002, and 2003, the Administration waited until March 2004 to file its first case against China. -- The Bush Administration has sought to gut funding for US efforts to support workers' rights and combat abusive child labor around the world. -- The Bush Administration waited three years and nearly three million lost manufacturing jobs to make even a token effort to stand up to China on its currency manipulation. Failing to have any strategy for manufacturing. The Bush Administration has stood by while nearly three million manufacturing jobs have disappeared without producing anything more than a token strategy for manufacturing. In fact, they would even make the crisis worse by cutting the MEP by 90 percent and moving to eliminate the Advanced Technology Program (ATP). Pushed tax cuts for the wealthy rather than targeted stimulus for job creation. The President has consistently proposed plans with little bang-for-the-buck in jumpstarting job growth in our economy: No stimulus in the 2001 tax package. The Administrations original 2001 tax proposal did not include any stimulus -- the partial rebate was only included at the insistence of Democrats. Ineffective corporate giveaways in the 2002 tax package. After 9/11 the Bush Administration ignored the growing jobs crisis and pushed for a retroactive repeal of the corporate Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). The Congressional Budget Office wrote that repealing the corporate AMT "does little by itself to change the near-term incentive for businesses to invest." (Congressional Budget Office, Economic Stimulus: Evaluating Proposed Changes in Tax Policy, January 2002.) Ineffective capital gains and dividend cuts in the 2003 tax package. In the 2003 the Administration opted for capital gains and dividend tax cuts judged by independent organizations to be extremely poor stimulus. The Congressional Research Service found that a "capital gains tax cut appears the least likely of any permanent tax cut to stimulate the economy in the short run; a temporary capital gains cut is unlikely to provide any stimulus." (Jane G. Gravelle "Economic and Revenue Effects of Permanent and Temporary Capital Gains Tax Cuts" updated Jan. 29, 2003) ------ STATE-BY-STATE JOB LOSSES IN MANUFACTURING Alabama(a) 46,000 Alaska(a) -1,000 Arizona 37,000 Arkansas 32,000 California 350,000 Colorado 35,000 Connecticut 40,000 Delaware(a) 3,000 D.C.(a) 1,000 Florida 62,000 Georgia(a) 70,000 Hawaii(a) 2,000 Idaho 9,000 Illinois 142,000 Indiana 70,000 Iowa 30,000 Kansas 26,000 Kentucky 37,000 Louisiana 21,000 Maine 17,000 Maryland 28,000 Massachusetts 88,000 Michigan 136,000 Minnesota 49,000 Mississippi 33,000 Missouri 42,000 Montana 3,000 Nebraska 12,000 Nevada(a) -1,000 New Hampshire 27,000 New Jersey 73,000 New Mexico 7,000 New York 138,000 North Carolina 159,000 North Dakota 1,000 Ohio 170,000 Oklahoma(a) 33,000 Oregon 25,000 Pennsylvania 159,000 Rhode Island 13,000 South Carolina(a) 58,000 South Dakota 5,000 Tennessee(a) 61,000 Texas 175,000 Utah 13,000 Vermont 10,000 Virginia 59,000 Washington 68,000 West Virginia 10,000 Wisconsin 80,000 Wyoming(a) 1,000 TOTAL 2,764,000 ------ Note: (a) - Indicates No Seasonally Adjusted Data Compares March, 01 - March, 04 (Bureau of Labor Statistics) Paid for by John Kerry for President Inc. |