President Biden Claims Manufacturing Renaissance in New Mexico Speech
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — President Joe Biden will deliver a speech in New Mexico on Wednesday, touting his policies of financial and tax incentives as catalysts for a manufacturing renaissance in the United States. While construction spending on new factories has increased, factory hiring has slowed in recent months, casting doubt on the promised boom.
The White House has been eager to highlight Biden’s agenda ahead of the 2024 election, painting it as responsible for a resurgence in factory work. White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi described the administration’s efforts as sparking a manufacturing renaissance, citing the example of Arcosa, a company hiring 250 workers at a wind tower factory in Belen, New Mexico.
Arcosa’s plant, which previously manufactured Solo cups and plastics, is starting construction as Biden speaks. The company had to lay off workers in Illinois and Iowa before the Inflation Reduction Act was enacted last year. However, after the law was passed, Arcosa received wind tower orders worth $1.1 billion, and its stock has risen by over 20% in the past year.
Biden has been consistently emphasizing the link between his policies to combat climate change and job creation. During a recent visit to a Philadelphia shipyard, he stressed that his focus on climate also means prioritizing union jobs and economic growth.
The president’s trip to the Southwest is aimed at countering the prevailing pessimism about the economy, exacerbated by last year’s spike in inflation. Biden won both Arizona and New Mexico in the 2020 election, and securing these states next year will be crucial for his reelection bid.
While Biden can point to a strong case for employment growth in the manufacturing sector, the pace of job growth has slowed over the past year. In the most recent jobs report, factories added only 125,000 workers over the past 12 months, a significant drop from the approximately 500,000 workers added annually last summer.
Administration officials argue that more factory jobs are on the horizon due to infrastructure spending, investments in computer chip plants, and the incentives provided by the Inflation Reduction Act. They claim that these incentives have already led to $500 billion worth of commitments in various sectors, including computer chips, electric vehicles, advanced batteries, clean energy technologies, and medical goods.
A report by the Economic Innovation Group (EIG) in April highlighted a nationwide boom in construction spending for factories. However, the EIG remains uncertain about a complete restoration of manufacturing, given the sector’s long-term decline. Labor Department figures show that the U.S. reached its peak in factory employment in 1979, with nearly 19.6 million jobs. The current number stands at just under 13 million, and experts believe that automation and trade will prevent a return to previous levels.
Adam Ozimek, chief economist at EIG, suggests that job numbers alone may not be the best measure of a manufacturing revival. Instead, he recommends looking at factors such as factory output growth, the ability to transition to renewable energy, and the establishment of a resilient supply chain to gauge the success of manufacturing efforts.
In conclusion, while President Biden claims credit for a manufacturing renaissance, the reality is more nuanced. While construction spending on new factories has surged, factory hiring has slowed. The long-term decline of the sector and the challenges of automation and trade present significant obstacles to achieving a full-fledged restoration of manufacturing.
Original Story at www.seattletimes.com – 2023-08-09 04:04:19
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