 Tom Grasson |
There is a local radio talk show host that I sometimes listen to on my drive home from work. This guy is sometimes referred to as Mr. Know It All and he can be very opinionated as well as controversial. One of his favorite expressions is: “I’m living in a world that I really don’t understand.” The more I think about it, the more I agree with this expression and, if you give it some thought, I think you will also see some truth in it too. Take for example manufacturing. It’s no secret that manufacturing is the backbone of our economy, with a multiplier effect that exponentially creates additional jobs. The technology developed and refined in this country has no doubt cost us some jobs. However, it has also made us more competitive and a leader in the global market place. Yet, from Washington to major U.S. corporate offices, we are determined to give these technological advantages away to gain a short term profit. No doubt, General Motors is still sharing technology at the same rate it was before receiving a $50 billion bailout from the federal government. And today, the stock price is at a new low since its $33/share initial public offering last November. Then if that’s not enough, all we need to do is consider the actions of Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of General Electric. Last year, Immelt publicly stated that China was becoming increasingly hostile to foreign multinationals. He then tells an audience of top Italian executives that he is not sure that China really wants anyone to win, or to be successful. A few months later, he eliminates hundreds of jobs with the closing of GE plants in Virginia, Massachusetts, and Ohio. Two of those plants made incandescent light bulbs, which will now be produced in China. However, the coup de grace was signing an agreement with Hu Jintao, President of the People’s Republic of China, to share GE’s most sophisticated airplane electronics – including some of the same technology used on the 787 Dreamliner. Adding insult to injury, earlier this year Immelt was named chairman of the Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, a new panel created by President Obama. Tom Buffenbarger, president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), could not have made it clearer when he stated: “We are rewarding the guy who is turning off America’s lights, literally.” Instead of giving our technology away in the hopes of making a fast dollar, we should be focused on becoming a high-technology manufacturing nation with the ability to export our products in the same manner other countries import products to us. Yes, I have a difficult time understanding how we are to create jobs when we are negotiating our technology and trade secrets for a piece of the action that will eventually enable others to beat us at our own game. And you wonder why I say I’m living in a world I don’t understand.
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