As I write this, America has just reelected a president, celebrated a holiday of family and probably too many mashed potatoes, and started preparing for the New Year. By the time you read this, the country will be beginning resolution season. Health and finances often receive more attention, and one important economic area to look at is the manufacturing industry.
As David Dornfeld, a professor at the University of California-Berkeley, told me, manufacturing seems to be an issue everyone can get behind, regardless of their politics. But although manufacturing is widely supported, there is not a lot of agreement on how to improve it here in the United States. Although the country is still the world’s top manufacturer, competition is everywhere. Some say that American manufacturers should bring jobs back from offshore, offer more training and higher wages, while others say that the answer is to look to places like Germany as an example. Ideas are plentiful, but easy answers are not.