There’s no way around it, unemployment is sky-high and the only way out of the economic rut in which the United States currently finds itself is to take immediate action.

The Atlantic boils it down to a simple number, running a piece entitled “10 Ways to Cut Unemployment in Half.”

And while all 10 ways are useful to reinvigorate the economy and regain American jobs, ManufactureThis would like to hone in on numbers 6 and 7:

6. Pressing China. It will be hard for the economy to recover and for the jobs picture to improve if China keeps its currency advantage compared to the US. The value of the yuan almost certainly improves China’s ability to keep the costs of its exports to the US low. It also raise the cost of imports from the US.The federal government would have to do two things to get China to “rethink” its trade and currency policy. Each is risky. The first is that the Treasury Department would have to make a direct threat to Beijing to label it as a Currency Manipulator, a designation which carries with it a number of trade sanctions. The second action by the American government would require that “strategic” imports from China be taxed. This would probably have to include finished metals like aluminum and finished commodities like tires.

7. Underwriting Exports. The Administration has said that the economy needs to boost exports. Even if trade issues with China are resolved, there are still some hurdles. Among the most meaningful is the cost of physical shipping. For products which have low profit margins, the price of air, sea, or ground transportation can be prohibitive. The government could elect to underwrite the cost of shipping, particularly for businesses that are relatively small or larger manufacturing businesses which are in sectors that have had large layoffs.

With more and more experts, scholars, journalists and policymakers realizing that cracking down on China is one huge way to help employment rise, we wonder why Congress and the Obama administration have yet to act.

Read more.

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200 workers at a Winchester, VA light bulb factory will lose their jobs when the last incandesant light bulb plant in the United States closes its doors, representing yet another manufacturing industry folding to China.

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It’s highly unlikely that Obama’s infrastructure proposal will pass before November… 

…but the Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing on legislation to establish an infrastructure bank in two weeks. 

Hello, Cleveland.  The President will formally unveil his new proposals to boost the economy today in Ohio. 

Terrific reporting in the Washington Post on the closing of a Virginia light bulb factory and how we have lost our competitive edge. 

Chinese officials meeting with NEC head Larry Summers and the deputy national security advisor say they hope for less “friction.”  MT offers a humble solution: stop cheating! 

As China’s influence grows around the globe, so does animosity towards it. 

Steve Pearlstein argues that high unemployment is largely structural, not cyclical, meaning we need to seriously refocus our economy. 

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In an extensive piece in The Real Dealer, Matt Miller “revisits” manufacturing, assessing its current demise and what needs to happen to pump back up the sector that once served as the backbone of the American economy.

Miller boldly states something that ManufactureThis has been questioning for a while: “Manufacturing in America isn’t dead, but does it have much of a pulse?” to which we respond “Are we, indeed, headed for an industrial devolution? And, if so, how can we stop it?”

After citing each side of the many political debates currently fluttering around the subject of manufacturing, Miller makes an overarching statement to emphasize just how important it is to keep this sector alive.

“There’s one constant that nearly everyone agrees on: Manufacturing remains vital to America’s economic engine. For all sorts of important reasons, from wages to trade to social cohesion, from community well-being to education, manufacturing has outsized importance.”

The decline of manufacturing has literally economically raized cities like Elkhart, IN and Pittsburgh, PA, putting astronomical workers.  China and the offshoring trend are more than partly to blame, as Miller atests to:

“Offshore competition shouldn’t be minimized, either. China is in industrial ascent and has quickly become an enormous production machine whose trade is helped along by an artificially weakened renminbi and some pretty blatant protectionism. China is also moving up the value chain. China’s authoritarian government is in the midst of an ambitious industrial policy that pours billions of dollars into applied R&D in up-and-coming sectors such as cleantech and renewable energy. That will further imperil American manufacturing.”

And while Miller claims that some types of manufacturing may, indeed, be permanently lost from the United States, skilled labor and advanced manufacturing are on the rise and it is critical to American businesses and employment that the Obama administration take steps to ensure that the U.S. doesn’t fall behind in these areas. 

Read more.

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Over Labor Day weekend, proposals to boost the economy flew out of the White House.  The highlights:

• New infrastructure investment. Coverage here and here. 
• Making the research and development tax credit permanent. 
• Immediate, full tax write-offs for new equipment purchases. 

Bob Herbert says the President is “rising to the occasion.” 

Meanwhile, the Washington Post chronicles U.S.-China relations.  Basically, China hasn’t given an inch on exchange rate manipulation. 

The tech sector is lagging in hiring.  (Maybe that’s because so much of the work has been offshored.) 

This was the worst summer jobs season on record for young people. 

Many economists are predicting high unemployment for years to come. 

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A report released this week by Freedom House ranks workers’ rights across the globe on a scale from “Free” to “Very Repressive”.

The U.S. was rated “Mostly Free” with a strong union presence and relatively solid workers’ rights.  China, not surprisingly, didn’t fare quite as well, receiving the “Repressive” rating for their poor enforcement of labor laws.

When considering where our manufactured goods are produced, it is important to take into consideration how workers are treated.  Next time you go to the store and check a label, consider the lifestyle that must be survived by the workers in order to produce that product.

Read more on the Freedom House report.

A Wall Street Journal blog displays a chart of factory growth around the world.

The chart indicates that both the U.S. and China are expanding faster than most other countries.

See the full chart.

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Economic Policy Institute (EPI) Senior International Economist Rob Scott responds in a piece on the Huffington Post to a recent New York Times article that claimed that China’s revaluation of the yuan would not affect America’s trade deficit.

Read two excerpts below:

An op-ed published in The New York Times last week (August 23) claimed that revaluation of the Chinese yuan would “make barely a dent in America’s trade deficit.” This ludicrous assertion flies in the face of basic economic theory and our own economic history. The U.S. trade deficit with China displaced 2.4 million U.S. jobs between 2001 and 2008 alone. Treasury Secretary Geithner should identify China as a currency manipulator, and Congress should pass legislation that would authorize the president to impose substantial tariffs on Chinese goods if they fail to substantially revalue the yuan by the end of 2010.

Currency manipulation by China and several other Asian nations makes their goods artificially cheap and makes U.S. exports artificially expensive in China and in world markets. Chinese foreign exchange reserves, the main instrument of currency manipulation, reached an unprecedented $2.5 trillion this past June. The Chinese yuan or renminbi (RMB) is estimated to be at least 35% to 40% undervalued, relative to the U.S. dollar. With no change in exchange rates and the growth of illegal subsidies and other unfair trade practices, it is no surprise that structural imbalances in trade and capital flows are resurfacing as the global economy recovers from the worst recession in 70 years.

Currency realignment works because it reduces unfair competition from imports in this market, and because it makes U.S. exports more competitive on world markets. A number of economists have estimated that ending currency manipulation by China and other countries can create at least 1 million jobs, increasing U.S. GDP and sustainable growth while helping to reduce both U.S. trade and budget deficits. As GDP rises (by 1% to 1.5% according to Krugman), wages and tax receipts will rise and spending on unemployment insurance and other forms of public assistance will decline.

The United States also needs to rebuild U.S. manufacturing by investing in R&D, clean energy, infrastructure, and workforce development. We also need to put an end to illegal subsidies and other unfair trade practices by China and other countries. This will create domestic demand for manufactured goods, develop new products that we can sell to the rest of the world, and open those markets to goods made in America. Over the past decade, other high-wage, developed countries such as Germany have maintained large manufacturing sectors with rapidly growing exports and a growing trade surplus. We need to learn from those successful players as we rebuild world-class, competitive manufacturing industries. The first step is to create a level playing field by rebalancing exchange rates with China and other countries, and that won’t happen without the threat of tariffs or other import restraints from the United States.

Read the post in full here.

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From AAM Field Coordinator Meghan McKeefry:

This week AAM was out in Michigan.  Coordinator Blue Wilson and myself spent some time in Jackson, MI to start ground work on preparing for a townhall meeting.  We made a stop into Dunkin Donuts to refuel and ended up passing out petitions and “Keep It Made in America” signs and pens while having a discussion about China and unfair trade with the crowded coffee shop.  Among fellow coffee drinkers was Michael Mitchell and Patrick Mitchell, brothers who expressed concern that their grocery store was hurting because a new Dollar store was just opened nearby.  This town is the site of an upcoming town hall meeting in October, and already I sense a great sense of community. 

Stay-tuned to ManufactureThis for updates on our upcoming Town Hall Tour.

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In the “Journal Community” section of the Wall Street Journal Online, a quick survey asks the question “Is the yuan key in rebalancing bilateral trade between the U.S. and China?”

Place your vote here!