Intelligent Manufacturing € February € 1997 € Vol. 3 € No. 2

NAM Reacts to Clinton Speech

Now that President Clinton has presented his budget proposal and delivered his annual address to the nation, the National Association of Manufacturers (http://www.nam.org) - the largest trade association for industrial manufacturers - has weighed in with its own take on the state of the union. "We applaud the President's call for a balanced budget, educational excellence and expanded trade," said Jerry Jasinowski, president of NAM, "but we are concerned that the President's proposals are not sufficiently focused on the need to spur economic growth, and are too heavily oriented toward the kind of 'government knows best' intrusiveness that we need to avoid.

"Manufacturers particularly welcome the President's global view about the importance of expanding international trade and exports. The Administration's strong commitment to U.S. global competitiveness will lead to more high-paying jobs for American workers, spur economic growth and reduce the trade deficit. We urge the Administration to promptly put forth a concrete proposal to renew the President's fast-track negotiating authority on international trade agreements.

"We also applaud the President's pledge to achieve a balanced budget and restore fiscal sanity to our national government. But NAM believes that a Constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget will ensure fiscal soundness for the long-term and will not erode Social Security.

"We are disappointed the address offered too little emphasis on tax relief to spur long-term economic growth, and too much federal tinkering. American families are in sore need of tax relief, but the Administration's targeted tax cut program is aimed more at behavior modification for specific social purposes than at making a real dent in the near doubling of the tax burden on working families in just one generation. Why not reduce taxes across the board and let Americans do whatever they want with their hard-earned money, instead of tinkering with the tax code to make it even more complicated and intrusive?

"Similarly, NAM would have liked to hear more emphasis on stimulating small business expansion in the United States, through product liability reform to curb wasteful litigation, common sense reforms to the regulatory system and fiscal policies that enhance rather than impede this key entrepreneurial sector.

"We can increase the number of people sharing in the American Dream by freeing hard-working Americans from excessive taxation and strengthening education, both key measures to unleashing the economy's full growth potential. The greatest legacy President Clinton could leave the nation is a national strategy to make higher economic growth America's number one priority for helping working Americans enhance their standard of living," Jasinowski concluded.

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