Issues – Growth

II) GROWTH

We must put the policies in place that allow the private sector to rebuild a structurally sound economy that builds real things of value again. Our strategy of relying on “manufacturing financial assets” has been revealed as a sham; we will only reignite the American economy by getting back to fundamentals through creating products the world needs and providing American jobs instead of handouts.

1) Economic Strategy
Our government has failed miserably in creating an environment that allows American businesses to compete in the world economy. We have piled on regulations an and refused to confront the illegal trade practices that have led to the decimation of our manufacturing base instead of creating and enforcing policies that help American manufacturers. A healthy economy can not exist without a solid manufacturing base.

Congress must enforce the existing provisions in our trade agreements that were negotiated to protect American jobs from unfair trade practices. There has been an unwillingness spanning the past two decades to confront this issue head on. This unwillingness will eventually turn into a complete inability to act as China and other foreign nations own more of our debt. Currency manipulation, illegal subsidies, forced technology transfer, and a host of other abuses by foreign governments must be addressed before the hollowing out of the American economy is complete.

Although regulation was mostly absent from the financial sector leading to the disastrous results of 2008, government has been all to willing to pile on regulations and costs to other businesses still operating in America. These policies reflect good intentions that speak to our national values but their net result has been the closure of thousands of businesses and the loss of millions of jobs. Current American policies decisively tilt in favor of imports while most countries structure their policies to allow domestic manufacturers to compete with global producers. We must evaluate ways to shift this burden from our small-businesses to a revenue model that places them on equal footing with foreign producers (consumption side vs production side). Policies like this would give American manufacturers a more globally competitive cost structure to aid domestic production and international sales.

2) Educational Foundation
We have become one of the wealthiest nations in the world largely due to a highly productive education system that allowed us to invent what the world needed. Recent weaknesses in the foundation of our system have been masked by foreign-born students who came to America for graduate degrees in the advanced sciences. This weakness is the result of a combination of our societal values and flaws in our education system.

Our scores in math, science, and writing are average to below the average of peer nations despite spending among the most per student on K-12 education in the world. A competitive educational system is critical to success in the 21st century world economy. We must create a strong educational framework that solves for student access, is built around customization, and encourages private sector innovation. Accomplishing this will force us to rethink past policies and harness technological advancements to provide personalized lesson plans and teaching methods based on an individual student’s learning style. Before the private sector can innovate and invest here, they must feel secure that scale and a market exists. We must pick up where No Child Left Behind stopped, and set national standards of excellence by grade level to provide the framework for local institutions and the private sector to innovate and create new software and other products that help students attain these goals. Our education system plays a critical role in our shared future and we must get it right.

3) Profitable Immigration
Immigration has historically been one of America’s principal competitive advantages. The world’s best and the brightest want to come here to build companies, create jobs, and start a new life is a strength that has fueled our economy for decades. Profitable immigration is more important to us than ever before given current economic conditions. We must ensure that our policies match up with our greatest current needs– world-class technical talent and catalysts to small business creation that will create American jobs now.

4) Infrastructure
One of the primary jobs of government is to provide a secure environment and a physical infrastructure for private enterprises to leverage and citizens to use in daily life. The current state of American infrastructure is abysmal– with the majority of it ranked as poor or mediocre. Our infrastructure, whether our bridges, air traffic control system, dams, levees, energy grid, roads, etc, are a clear investment and indicator for our future competitiveness. These critical arteries in our everyday life are on average rated a D. We must look at our federal budget and decide where we need to put our money and what truly are investments vs expenses. Instead of rushed “stimulus” programs, we must lay out a clear national masterplan that addresses our biggest needs prioritizing by importance to private sector and usage, as well as danger of failure. A multi-year plan that strategically sets up for the future, creates jobs today, and takes the politics (and pork) out of spending bills is essential for our national competitiveness.