Show an ad over header. AMP

I am the FIRST!!!

Biden administration to call pandemic a “wake-up call” to restore manufacturing base

National Economic Council director Brian Deese will label the coronavirus pandemic a "wake-up call" to bring manufacturing jobs back to America in a speech Wednesday unveiling the Biden administration’s industrial policy, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: President Biden’s campaign was predicated on providing well-paying jobs for millions of Americans who've seen the country’s industrial heartland hollowed out by automation and competition for lower-cost labor from other countries.


  • "Our private sector and public policy approach to domestic production prioritized low, short-term costs over security, sustainability and resilience," Deese is expected to say in a speech to the Atlantic Council Wednesday morning.
  • "Markets — on their own — will not make investments in the technologies and infrastructure that would benefit an entire industry."
  • "These failures require a different role for government, one where public R&D lays a foundation for breakthrough technologies, and government pulls forward the deployment and dispersion of innovation."

The big picture: Early in the pandemic, the shortage of personal protective equipment for medical workers raised awareness that America didn’t produce many basic items to protect its citizens.

  • Deese will note that "nearly 90% of generic active pharmaceutical ingredient facilities are located overseas and have been moving offshore for the last 50 years."
  • The rest of his speech articulates Biden’s approach to reversing those trends and lays out the administration's long-term strategy for how America can compete with China and other global challengers.

Driving the news: Deese’s speech comes as he and other White House officials work with Congress to try to pass a bipartisan infrastructure deal, which includes roughly $580 billion in new spending.

  • But that effort is just a sliver of the more than $4 trillion in new spending the president has proposed as part of his “Build Back Better” agenda, another cornerstone of his campaign.
  • This month, the White House announced a new task force to focus on solving the supply chain disruptions created by the pandemic.
  • That dovetails with Deese's advocacy for the public spending on research and development, as well as a bigger role for the federal government in the procurement process.

By the numbers: Manufacturing jobs reached their peak in 1979, at 19.6 million.

  • Forty years later, the number declined to 12.8 million, down some 35% from the all-time high, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  • Under President Trump, the economy added roughly 500,000 manufacturing jobs, before the pandemic wiped them all away.
  • Trump ended his term with a loss of some 240,00 manufacturing positions.

Between the lines: As the economy has shed manufacturing jobs, it's added positions in other sectors that typically don’t pay as well. The Midwest has been particularly hard-hit.

  • For example, between 2001 and 2019, Indiana lost over 72,000 jobs in the manufacturing sector, while adding 228,000 in the hospitality, administrative services and health care sectors, according to a study from the left-of-center Brookings Institution.

regular 4 post ff

infinite scroll 4 pff

How the U.S. got boxed in on privacy

The federal government's failure to craft a national privacy law has left it to be squeezed on the issue by the EU on one side and California on the other.

Why it matters: Companies are stuck trying to navigate the maze of EU and state laws, while legislators in Washington have no choice but to use those laws as de facto standards.

Keep reading...Show less

The world's population growth is slowing, and that's OK

Population growth is continuing to slow in the U.S. and China — the world’s top two economies — but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Why it matters: While population trends can be difficult to change, there is unlikely to be a “point of no return" where they can't be reversed — if government leaders proactively address the foundational causes, like the burdens and costs of child care or fears of immigration.

Keep reading...Show less

Taliban capture third-largest city in Afghanistan, 11th provincial capital in last week

Data: Al Jazeera and AP; Map: Axios Visuals

The Taliban captured the cities of Ghazni and Herat on Thursday, the 10th and 11th provincial capitals to fall to the militant group in recent days, AP reports.

Why it matters: Herat is the third-largest city in Afghanistan. Ghazni is the closest provincial capital to Kabul to fall to the Taliban — putting their frontlines within 100 miles of the heart of Afgahn government. Capturing Ghazni also cuts off a key highway linking it with Afghanistan's southern provinces.

Keep reading...Show less

Tennessee flooding leaves 10 dead and dozens missing as heavy rainfall lashes state

Heavy flooding striking parts of Tennessee left at least 10 people dead and 40 others missing, Humphreys County Sheriff's office Chris Davis told the Tennessean Saturday.

Driving the news: Heavy rainfall was pummeling much of the state. The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said dangerous flash flooding closed a major local highway near McEwen, and the National Weather Service reporting potential record rainfall near fellow Humphreys County city McEwen.

Keep reading...Show less

Insights

mail-copy

Get Goodhumans in your inbox

Most Read

More Stories
<!ENTITY lol2 “&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;“> <!ENTITY lol3 “&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;“> <!ENTITY lol4 “&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;“> ]> &lol4;