Jay Timmons with Lady Thatcher in 1995

Today, we often take our economic freedom for granted when, not too many years ago, the triumph of free enterprise was in serious question. But, thanks to leaders like Margaret Thatcher, freedom and economic opportunity are available to millions of people around the world.

Her passing today concludes a remarkable life, one that began in humble origins but rose to the heights of power. As Prime Minister, she not only used her political clout to expand liberty and economic opportunity in her country, but across the world. Working with her friend and partner President Ronald Reagan, they ensured that the bright torch of liberty was able to shine into the darkness created by decades of communist oppression. The pair set in motion the collapse of the Soviet Union and gave the world an uplifting and promising alternative to the destructive and dehumanizing ideology of communism.

Nearly two decades ago, I had the privilege to visit with the former Prime Minister when she came to Virginia to address the General Assembly, just as her predecessor Winston Churchill had done some 40 years before.

In 1995, memories of the fall of the Berlin Wall were still fresh in the minds of Americans, and during my encounter with the Lady Thatcher, I asked her, “It must have been amazing to watch the Berlin Wall fall. How did you feel when it happened?”

“Feel?” she stated without any hint of emotion. “Why I didn’t feel anything really. It was what was supposed to happen.”

For her, the march to liberty and freedom was as basic as our own DNA. In every fiber of her being, she knew it was humankind’s destiny, and it was just a matter of “when,” not “if,” it would happen for all the people of the world.

Virginia Governor and Mrs. George Allen and Jay Timmons speak with the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

The Iron Curtain that fell across Europe is but a rusty remnant. The challenges to freedom and prosperity, however, have returned anew. Economic freedom and prosperity remain at substantial risk, in particular on the very continent where Prime Minister Thatcher helped defeat communism. Both are also in jeopardy here at home, where our government has become unmoored from the limits envisioned by its founders and threatens to burden future generations with immense debt. And free market capitalism itself is being threatened by a new form of communism that outwardly doesn’t seem as vile as its Soviet and Maoist predecessors, but is every bit as dehumanizing.

Americans, and Brits as well, have a way of altering the road to history, and there is no doubt that we can overcome these 21st century obstacles. Just as we did in the 1970s, we seem to be waiting for another “perfect storm” of leaders to emerge on the world stage and stand out as giants again, as did Lady Thatcher, President Reagan and Pope John Paul II. The “Iron Lady” never lacked for will, and future leaders will need to emulate her leadership and commitment to principle that gave us a world where freedom, economic opportunity and prosperity made significant advances.

There are many ideas swirling around Washington these days on how to avoid the fiscal cliff and address our nation’s long-term fiscal challenges. Some ideas are good, but many are “nonstarters” for manufacturers, particularly if they include higher taxes on the industry. One bad idea in particular is raising taxes on the energy industry. The manufacturing sector is the largest energy consumer in the United States, using one-third of the nation’s energy. Imposing new energy taxes will drive up domestic energy production costs for manufacturers. In fact, raising taxes on domestic energy–producing companies will make it more expensive to produce everything in this country. Higher fuel costs will affect all Americans by increasing the cost of products made and the cost of products purchased.

And that’s not all. Energy tax increases will cost jobs. Millions of jobs will be at risk and future job creation thwarted if new energy taxes are enacted. With a persistent unemployment rate hovering around 8 percent, imposing new energy taxes is a bad idea. In addition, manufacturers and the broader business community will bear the brunt of higher fuel costs driven by new energy taxes, causing a further drag on job creation.

Energy independence is also at stake. The United States has made great advances recently in developing new domestic energy sources. Unfortunately, levying higher taxes on energy companies would discourage U.S. oil and gas investments, working against the goal of enhancing America’s energy security and boosting new, domestic investments in affordable energy sources.

The National Association of Manufacturers is working hard to convince Washington’s policymakers not to go over the fiscal cliff and instead get our nation’s fiscal house in order. Our support for this goal, however, doesn’t include increasing taxes for an industry or the broader manufacturing sector—a move we believe would make a bad situation even worse.

Manufacturing lost an effective leader and one of its strongest advocates last week.  The NAM family was saddened to hear of the loss of Dexter F. Baker, who chaired the NAM Board of Directors in 1992.

Mr. Baker spent his career with Air Products and Chemicals, ultimately rising to serve as chairman and CEO.  As a manufacturer, he was ahead of his time. Mr. Baker saw the incredible possibilities offered by global commerce and helped Air Products expand into markets abroad.  Today, the company has expanded to over 50 countries.

Mr. Baker brought that same acumen to his tenure on the NAM Board of Directors. He helped position the NAM as a powerful voice for the manufacturing community and a leading advocate for pro-growth policies to help manufacturing expand and grow internationally, and create jobs.

We will be forever grateful for Dexter Baker’s leadership not only on behalf of manufacturing but also in his community. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Dexter’s wife of 61 years Dottie and his family.

Quick – who is ahead today in the polls?

Hey….did you hear the latest gaffe from the presidential candidates?

Remember when the President said “You didn’t make this?” Or when Governor Romney said “I can’t convince them to vote for me?

What about the latest stories the spouses told about their presidential candidate husbands’ early years in elementary school?

Here’s my question:  “Who cares?”

The media and political strategists seem to revel in spending countless hours of coverage on meaningless and trivial matters regarding the presidential race, and other campaigns for that matter.  Coming from a newspaper family (my mother was the publisher of my hometown paper), I am truly saddened at how media coverage has devolved into often times nothing more than entertainment.

With all due respect to the ravenous appetite to fill time in the 24/7 news cycle, we need to cut through the chatter.  America’s economy is at stake.  Indeed, America is at stake.

It’s time for Americans to take charge again.  And you can be on the front lines to do exactly that.

It is not an overstatement to say that this election is the most important of our lifetimes. That’s something we hear nearly every two years, but no other in our lifetimes has implications that will last generations as does this one.

Will we be a nation that embraces and cheers the free market, entrepreneurial spirit and capitalistic risk-taking that has made our country the freest, strongest and most prosperous in the history of the world?

Or will we become sedentary spectators who allow the federal government to squelch the fire of ingenuity by continuing to demonize success and forcing ever more reliance on a Washington bureaucracy that seems intent on diminishing the values of hard work and personal responsibility?

That is the choice we will make on Tuesday, November 6.

The NAM recently released a poll we commissioned with the National Federation of Independent Business.  The shocking results of the survey found that a whopping 55% of small businesses and manufacturers would not start their business today because of the burdens Washington places on them.

How can America’s economy recover and thrive in the future if our government policies discourage investment and risk?  When companies indicate they won’t expand and won’t hire because of our uncompetitive tax policies, our oppressive regulatory regime and the looming fiscal cliff, is anyone in Washington listening?  It sure doesn’t seem like it.

Against that backdrop, Americans will go to the polls and decide whether Barack Obama or Mitt Romney is the better leader to meet these challenges. Who has the best record – not the best rhetoric – to do the job?

For the past several months, both candidates have fallen over each other attempting to claim the mantle of the most supportive of manufacturing.  And the reason is clear – a strong and growing manufacturing base, with its outsized multiplier effect, is essential to growing the rest of our economy and fixing our nation’s addiction to deficit spending.

Their visions, however, differ radically, especially on issues that have a significant impact on manufacturing. And it isn’t difficult to figure out that the results will be vastly different.

The middle class has been affectionately wooed by both candidates on the issue of taxes.  But manufacturers get lost in the debate when President Obama calls on raising taxes on individuals of a certain income level.  No less than two-thirds of manufacturers – mostly small and medium sized companies – pay taxes as individuals, and they are already struggling to meet payroll.

Both candidates have called for comprehensive energy policies premised on an “all-of-the-above” strategy; yet “all of the above” means something different to each. Governor Romney, for example, makes room for the Keystone XL pipeline in his plan. It’s missing in the President’s approach.  And with much fanfare, Mr. Obama routinely calls for raising taxes on energy producers, which will ravage consumers – from senior citizens to manufacturers.

On regulations, Governor Romney has vowed to scale back the current Administration’s regulatory excesses, a task easier said than done. Many rules are mandated by statute or judicial decree, so a President’s authority to roll them back is limited. But it is certainly the right philosophy.  In the past, neither party has proven to be a model of restraint – some 2,000 have been imposed on manufacturers in the past 30 years.

There is a lot at stake – for manufacturers, for our economy, and for future generations of Americans.  So the next time someone asks you about an errant remarks at a debate, or tells you how great one of the candidates looks surrounded by their family, politely ask them this:  “Have you had a chance to compare the candidates on the issues? Do you know where they stand on taxes, on regulation, on energy and other issues that matter to our economy?”

The NAM’s Election Center has those answers, from the Presidential candidates, to those running for the Senate and the U.S. House. Share this site and the information with your colleagues and those in your community.  We need an informed and educated electorate to ensure pro-manufacturing policy is front and center after the election.

The key to our success starts with you.  Please vote and encourage your employees, your family and your friends to do the same.

Quite simply, America is at stake.

Jay Timmons is president and CEO, National Association of Manufacturers

Tonight’s debate took on a very different format, and a very different tone from the first debate. It was much more combative with the candidates painting very different pictures of their vision for economic recovery and manufacturing growth.

Both President Obama and Governor Romney spoke early and often in support of growing manufacturing jobs in the United States. While it’s good to hear the support, it is incredibly important to implement policies that will not just lead to recovery, but to sustained growth. The candidates spent much of the night discussing the elements that make it 20 percent more expensive to manufacture in the United States—taxes, regulation, energy and trade.

Time and again, the conversation returned to job creation—fundamentally the most significant issue in this election. Manufacturers couldn’t agree more, but we’d like to remind the candidates that it’s also essential that we fill the 600,000 job openings in the manufacturing sector that remain unfilled today because employers can’t find workers with skills that match the jobs.

Energy policy is an immediate pathway to jobs. President Obama spoke about increased oil production and a desire for an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy, but yet again, this debate came and went without the President mentioning the Keystone XL pipeline. Governor Romney had it absolutely right when he told the audience at Hofstra University that we need to “take advantage of energy resources we have and we’ll see manufacturing jobs come back.” Governor Romney advocated in favor of the Keystone XL pipeline again and also spoke of shale gas, a game-changer that would create 1 million manufacturing jobs. The President also supported shale gas efforts, but his endorsement of more federal regulation on shale will handcuff the growth opportunity that it represents.

Special attention was paid to trade tonight—a critical aspect of our economy for manufacturing growth. President Obama deserves credit for signing the Colombia, South Korea and Panama free trade agreements and increasing exports. But manufacturers need more—the United States has a trade surplus with nations with whom we have free trade agreements. Governor Romney is right in the need for expanded trade that will open up markets for manufacturers in the United States and level the playing field around the world.

As the debate repeatedly returned to jobs, tax policy and its impact on economic growth was a focal point. Tonight the candidates doubled down on their position—Governor Romney in his support for bringing down rates across-the-board and President Obama in his support for an increase in the top individual rate. Unfortunately, if the two-thirds of manufacturers who file at the individual rate are hit with the looming tax hike, they will see a continuation of the tough times they’ve experienced over the past four years. With energy and health care costs increasing and the fiscal abyss approaching, manufacturers are getting squeezed on both ends. That’s not a recipe for economic growth.

Getting the nation on track again and putting our fiscal house in order requires addressing the factors that make it 20 percent more expensive to manufacture in the United States. The moment that we put in effect the pro-growth policies that manufacturers are calling for is the moment our true recovery can begin.

Tonight’s debate opened with a focus on jobs. It was a good start and exactly where our focus needs to be.

Manufacturing means jobs. Manufacturing means secure, good-paying jobs that help drive our economy. Governor Romney laid out a strong jobs program built on the fundamental principles of a pro-growth agenda. He correctly noted that tax revenues for the government only go up when people have jobs that allow them to pay taxes in the first place. Sixty-six percent of manufacturers pay taxes at the individual rate, and a tax hike for these job creators will stop job creation in its tracks. Washington policies that include looming tax hikes have resulted in 55 percent of surveyed small businesses and manufacturers saying they would not start a business today. Allowing manufacturers to invest in their businesses and their workforce is the only true path to economic recovery.

Ensuring that the workforce has the proper training and skills is a consistent concern for manufacturers in the U.S. Despite an unemployment rate that has been above 8 percent for the past few years, we still have 600,000 jobs that remain open because manufacturers can’t find workers with the skills to match the jobs. President Obama’s focus on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education opportunities is a critical aspect of creating the type of workforce that will drive the innovation that will maintain America’s place as the number-one manufacturing nation in the world.

But the spirit of the American dream, of people lifting themselves up through education, could take a backseat if the trend of picking winners and losers in business continues. The attempt to “villainize” energy producers in the U.S. was predictable, but it won’t get us any closer to the “all-of-the-above” energy policy that we sought after. Manufacturers, as consumers of one-third of our nation’s energy supply, need affordable and consistent energy resources to drive our economy. Governor Romney was absolutely right when he called for the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline. Keystone XL represented one of the single strongest opportunities for job creation in the past couple of years, and the discussion of energy policy returned the debate right back to where the focus needed to be on—jobs.

Just as he did in his State of the Union address eight months ago, President Obama again put manufacturing front and center last night in his nomination acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention.

He touted some achievements of his term—new manufacturing jobs and three new free trade agreements—but then laid out a new challenge for the next four years: creating one million manufacturing jobs.

That’s a laudable goal, but it’s clear that something has to change. President Obama simply rehashed some of the policies of his current administration—growing exports, for example (which we, of course, support). But manufacturers need bolder policy prescriptions. After all, the jobs report this morning reflected that manufacturing lost 15,000 jobs last month. If the status quo isn’t working now, why should Americans expect more of the same to lead to one million new jobs?

Of course, the first step in creating one million jobs is to stop going backwards. But that is exactly what is going to continue happening in a few months if our leaders don’t decisively deal with the impending fiscal abyss. The fiscal abyss means job losses for small and medium-sized manufacturers as a result of tax increases as well as job losses for innovators in the defense industry, who will be hit hard by indiscriminate cuts that will do little to solve our long-term fiscal challenges. Add to that the significantly mounting regulatory costs on manufacturers, and the result is a business climate that stifles job creation.

Neither candidate offered policy specifics these past two weeks. Over the next two months, they should. The problems facing manufacturers are abundantly clear, and manufacturers want to hear what both candidates plan to do to solve them.

Manufacturing figured prominently on day two of the Democratic National Convention. The mentions of the sector in prime time by former President Bill Clinton and Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren underscore what the NAM has been saying for some time: Everyone is talking about manufacturing.

Last night’s speakers clearly recognized that invoking manufacturing makes for good politics. But politics won’t bring about a manufacturing renaissance. Strong, pro-growth policies will, and last night’s speeches were short on policy.

President Clinton talked about the half-million manufacturing jobs created during President Obama’s tenure. That’s true. Manufacturing has been a bright spot in the otherwise anemic economic recovery. But manufacturing lost over two million jobs during the recession. How are we going to get these jobs back? That question wasn’t answered.

The former president did mention a few strategies that would strengthen manufacturing—like promoting energy development and efficiency and closing the skills gap—but the fact is, it remains 20 percent more expensive to manufacture in the United States compared to our major trading partners.

Elizabeth Warren alluded to the costs manufacturers face when she talked about “the head of a manufacturing company in Franklin, trying to protect jobs, but worried about rising costs.” She didn’t explore what these costs are, but any manufacturer could tell you. They are things like our corporate tax rate, which is the highest in the world, and our regulatory system, which continues to expand and impose new costs and burdens on manufacturers. Ms. Warren famously created another agency to add to the regulatory burden that businesses face in the U.S. Her opponent, Senator Scott Brown, has been a champion for manufacturers and for reducing their cost burden.

Until our policies begin to close the cost gap between the U.S. and our competitors, manufacturing will not reach its full potential. In fact, it’s a testament to manufacturers’ strength that we have been creating jobs in a difficult policy environment. Imagine what we could do with the right policies.

The NAM and Politico teamed up at the conventions to host events focusing on “Growing the Economy.” You can read about the RNC event here and yesterday’s DNC event here.

Politico has hosted a number of other discussions, one of which caught my eye today.  The subject was energy policy. A replay of the event is available here.

A discussion of energy policy could just as well have been held at our events on jobs and the economy.  After all, a strong, pro-growth energy policy can help create jobs, particularly in manufacturing, which is energy intensive, using one-third of the U.S. energy supply.

While members of both parties talk about an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy, the United States has yet to adopt anything of the sort.  We have abundant resources at our disposal, but many remain off limits, whether through the inaction of Congress or the overzealousness of regulators, to name just two reasons.

An all-of-the-above energy strategy means just what it says.  It means using traditional sources of energy like coal and oil.  But, the Environmental Protection Agency through its Utility MACT and Cross-State Air Pollution rules is looking to drive coal-fired power plants out of business.  As for oil, permitting delays and other regulatory obstacles continue to thwart new exploration and development offshore.

An all-of-the-above strategy also embraces new opportunities such as those presented by the shale gas boom.

And alternative sources have a role to play too. Nuclear needs to be part of our energy mix—it’s a form of clean energy we have yet to utilize fully. Long-term development of this vital energy source has unfortunately fallen victim to political battles. And, there have been many new and exciting innovations with renewable sources of energy like wind and solar that have helped expand the use of these important resources.

Our nation’s energy policy can’t single out one of these sources.  We must embrace them all, especially if we want to grow manufacturing and remain competitive. Reliable and abundant energy will bring investment to our shores—and with it, jobs. And it will encourage manufacturers in the United States to expand their operations and hire more workers.

As we develop additional sources of energy, manufacturers will be able to grow their capabilities. Manufacturers are doing more with less because they are harnessing new technologies and becoming more energy efficient. Earlier this week, I had the chance to speak with manufacturers about their efforts to develop new and innovative systems that lower energy costs by making manufacturing facilities more efficient. NAM member Ingersoll Rand and its CEO Mike Lamach hosted an event with Senator Amy Klobuchar and Gen. Wesley Clark to discuss the issue and its role in a comprehensive energy policy.

A strong energy policy is a strong jobs policy.  That’s something for the men and women we put into office this November to think about.

Jay Timmons makes remarks at an NAM/Politico event on jobs and the economy. / Photo by David Bohrer

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) kicked off its week at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) today. Just as we did in Tampa, we are partnering with Politico, and today we hosted an event featuring a number of top policymakers who are attending the DNC.

Delaware Governor Jack Markell joined Rep. Brad Miller of North Carolina and former Rep. Susan Molinari, who is now a government affairs executive with Google, at the Politico Hub. White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer also participated, as did Austan Goolsbee, former chairman of the White House’s Council of Economic Advisors.

The panelists gave a nod to manufacturing as a bright spot in the economic recovery, but news this morning once again demonstrated that we have a lot of work ahead of us. Manufacturing contracted in August, the third month in a row. Reflecting on the global economic uncertainty, Goolsbee commented, “Most any country in the world would rather have our problems.”

But that is little consolation to the 8.3 percent of Americans who are unemployed, and the millions more who are underemployed.  The United States did not achieve its economic leadership by default—because our competitors were worse off.  We did so by out-innovating and out-working them, feats made possible by our system of free enterprise.

Economist Austan Goolsbee fields questions at an NAM/Politico event on jobs and the economy. / Photo by David Bohrer

One tenet of free enterprise is free trade, and a topic that came up repeatedly during the panel discussion today was trade. Ninety-five percent of the world’s consumers live outside of the United States. Reaching these customers is critical for manufacturers’ growth, yet obstacles stand in the way of increased exports.

For one, many nations have tariffs or other trade barriers that make products from the U.S. less competitive. The U.S. can help bring these barriers down through free trade agreements. But right now, out of the dozens of trade pacts being negotiated around the world, the U.S. is party to just one.

Revitalizing the nation’s trade agenda is one part of a pro-growth plan to strengthen manufacturing and grow jobs and the economy. The NAM has an agenda that will lead the way.