Join the Movement to American-Made Products

I’m adamantly against profiling — except when it comes to profiling American-made goods. American consumers should do a better job “profiling” anything manufactured in this country and then purchase those goods. You may be surprised to know that when both foreign- and American-made products are offered, the Made in USA product is usually less expensive, and by a wide margin. Besides spending your money wisely, there is another... Read More

US Oil Production Will Help Us Regain International Prestige

President Obama has made it clear that he is no advocate of fossil fuels. He has gone to war against coal and refuses to allow drilling on most federal lands for oil. Despite this lack of support, the United States actually has a surplus of crude oil and natural gas. Domestic production is way up — to the point that gas prices at the pump has started to come down. There’s even talk of exporting gas and oil — something that has been... Read More

Are Unions Part of the Jobs Problem?

Trade unions are always proclaiming their mission is to save and create U.S. jobs. But if you have been paying attention to their actions, you would be hard pressed to see this philosophy in action. Jobs aren’t being created by unions — the opposite is occurring. That may explain why union membership has dropped to 6.6 percent of all workers, down from 35 percent in the mid-1950s. Even as the United States engages in important negotiations... Read More

Do Unions Really Care About Creating Jobs?

Trade unions are always proclaiming their mission is to save and create U.S. jobs. But if you have been paying attention to their actions, you would be hard pressed to see this philosophy in action. Jobs aren’t being created by unions — the opposite is occurring. That may explain why union membership has dropped to 6.6 percent of all workers, down from 35 percent in the mid-1950s. Even as the United States engages in important negotiations... Read More

Capping CEO Compensation Is Dangerous

Professional sports players are usually paid based on performance. The better they play, the more money they make. In the business world, CEOs are typically compensated based on the performance of their company. The better the company performs, the more they are paid in salary and stock options. One big difference is that professional sports teams work with a salary cap, which determines how much money they can spend on their players. In the... Read More

The Assault on CEO Compensation

Professional sports players are usually paid based on performance. The better they play, the more money they make. In the business world, CEOs are usually compensated based on the performance of their company. The better the company performs, the more they are paid in salary and stock options. One big difference is that professional sports teams work with a salary cap, which determines how much money they can spend on their players. In the business... Read More

US Car Brands Take the Off Ramp in Korea

As an exporter, I am a big supporter of the South Korean Free Trade Agreement signed on March 15, 2012, because when we open up foreign markets to American goods, the resulting lower trade barriers and tariffs help make U.S. products more competitive. During a recent trip to Korea, a journey I have made countless times over the past 30 years, I couldn’t help but notice that I saw no American cars. This didn’t make any sense to me... Read More

Our Economic Security Depends on Job Creation

The impact of 26 million Americans who are unemployed or underemployed moves this nation further and further away from economic security. Then add in the millions of American who have been forced into part-time jobs (who are five times more likely to live in poverty) and we have an economic picture that would make our Founding Fathers weep. An underlying issue that receives little coverage is that when people don’t have jobs or economic... Read More

Take Away the Government’s Checkbook

I run a successful manufacturing and export business. My success depends on our ability to accurately cost the materials and services we consume. If my estimates are wrong, I won’t stay in business very long. Our government has no such apparent obligation. Our tax dollars are being wasted on projects that are so out of sync with accepted norms that one wonders who is involved in these decisions. I think we have to look at President Obama’s... Read More

A Wakeup Call to American Business

It’s hard to find any good news surrounding the government shutdown, especially since an estimate from Standard & Poor’s projected that the shutdown took $24 billion out of the U.S. economy and reduced projected fourth-quarter GDP growth from 3 percent to 2.4 percent. Yet, the shutdown appears to have had one positive effect: it awoke a sleeping giant — America’s business community, which has been sitting on the sidelines... Read More