July 10, 2011

How to Restore America's Manufacturing Innovation

By Howard Richman, Raymond Richman, and Jesse Richman
The first presidential report to Congress on manufacturing, Alexander Hamilton's 1791 Report on Manufactures, was a classic; it shaped American industrial policy for 150 years. The latest report, the Report to the President on Ensuring American Leadership in Advanced Manufacturing published last month by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), shares many similarities. Both reports recognize that manufacturing leads to economic strength and to innovations. Hamilton recommended tariffs; the latest report recommends new incarnations of President Reagan's successful SEMATECH consortium as well as a cut in the corporate income tax.  Although it represents a step in the right direction, the new report does not go far enough. The recently issued report was put together by PCAST, a prestigious group assembled by President Obama, including top academic and business leaders such as Craig Mundie, Chief Research and Strategy Officer of Microsoft, and Eric...(Read Full Article)