July 30, 2015
Manufacturing & Government Policies
Opportunities for employment in the manufacturing sector have been on the rise, however most companies fear government policy changes and regulations. Policy changes such as healthcare, and the fair and free trade act are just some of the government policies that affect our country's manufacturing industry.
The healthcare reform is only going to prove more of a strain on these businesses as they are encouraged to hire more employees which they will have to cover.Even with the current drop in demand for US manufactured products and the cut in government spending there are still job growth opportunities in the manufacturing industry. However, many business owners fear that with the current state of the industry there are additional problems that need to be solved. The recent changes in healthcare policies are placing additional pressure on the owners of these businesses. According to the National Association of Manufacturers about 97 percent of manufacturers offer healthcare coverage as a benefit, but the sky rocketing cost of healthcare is hurting them, especially the smaller businesses. The healthcare reform is only going to prove more of a strain on these businesses as they are encouraged to hire more employees which they will have to cover. This is only one of several government policies that the manufacturing business currently fears. The fair and free trade act which is also a government regulated policy is responsible for taxes on goods that are exported from the United States. When these taxes are either raised or lowered there is a direct affect on the manufacturer of these goods. The fair and free trade act and the health care reform, are only a few variables which affect the way manufacturing businesses operate in the United Sates. With so many extenuating circumstances it can be frustrating for owners in this industry, but there is some hope. There is a huge push at the moment in the US to bring a new era of American manufacturing back to the United States. For a long time the governments control and regulations over the industry has really put a handicap on moving forward. We have seen firsthand in Manhattan the urgency to manufacture products in the US from American designers in our own Garment district. Hopefully the increase of American made goods will start to increase revenues and start bringing some profit back to these businesses and take some of the hurt away from government policies and regulations. Right now America is importing more goods than we are exporting. Congress is encouraging the production of more American made merchandise by rewarding manufacturing companies with, lowering the tax rates for companies that manufacture and create jobs in the US. Increasing the manufacturing of American goods would not only create more jobs, but would also help the American bottom line, thus improving our recovering economy.