America's Business Community And The Obama Administration

A new Democratic president will be inaugurated on January 20, 2009, less than two weeks from today. President-elect Barack Obama, however, has already begun to lay out his economic plan to revive the shaky domestic economy. The plan includes major ($500 billion) spending and $300 billion of tax cuts to individuals and businesses. Barack Obama's plan also includes a $500-per-worker tax cut; generous tax write-offs for businesses suffering losses in 2008 and 2009. The plan also includes incentives for business investments; tax credits for new hiring; around $100 billion for health care, both to temporarily take on more of the states' burden for Medicaid coverage and to finance computerization of all medical records in five years. The plan also includes the rejuvenation of our nation via billions for old-style building and renovation projects targeting roads, bridges, water systems and schools; and billions more to double the production of alternative energy in three years, to upgrade energy efficiency of more than 75% of federal buildings, and to upgrade electrical grids.

Major business associations and lobbies welcomed the President-elect's stimulus package and showed their unequivocal support to jolt the economy, to create a healthy business environment, to rebuild confidence and create jobs. The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), the nation's oldest and largest broad-based industrial trade association, pledged to work with President-elect Obama, his Administration and the new Congress to strengthen the economy. NAM represents 14,000 companies in every industrial sector in every state in the country.

Michael Campbell, the new chairman of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), announced his plans to reach out to the incoming Obama Administration and to Congress to work closely with them "to help craft policies and legislation that will enable America's manufacturers to continue to serve as a vital engine of growth and prosperity" (Just in Time, January 2009, NAM).

"As a prominent proponent of infrastructure investments and founder of the Alliance for Improving America's Infrastructure, the NAM will offer its advice and assistance in developing the new Administration's infrastructure plans," added NAM Executive Vice President Jay Timmons. The NAM's other immediate legislative priorities for the new Obama Administration and the 111th Congress include to advance pro-growth tax and energy policies and to preserve the secret ballot as the preferred way for employees to choose union membership (Just in Time, January 2009, NAM).

Manufacturing plays a vital role in the nation's economic and financial security and NAM has a major responsibility to shape incentives, laws, and policy decisions that impact America's manufacturers and the manufacturing community. According to the Manufacturing Institute and the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI 2008 structural cost study, external costs such as taxes, energy, and regulatory compliance-that are out of the control of manufacturers and mainly influenced by government action and/or inaction- are much higher in the United States than in other major industrial countries, putting U.S. manufacturers at a disadvantage. Compared to previous years, however, these external costs declined considerably as the 2008 report reveals, the disadvantage that U.S. manufacturers face is 17.6 percent when compared with nine major industrial countries including Germany, Japan, Canada, Mexico, and China, due to the progress that was made on the agenda to reform these structural costs. The Manufacturing Institute is the research and education arm of the NAM, building intellectual support and raising understanding among policymakers, the media, educators and potential workers about manufacturing's contributions to the quality of American life, the challenges facing the sector and its excellent, and technologically sophisticated career opportunities.

While the American business community's support for the President-elect, his administration, and the new Congress seems to be strong, some voices of opposition were heard. According to a recent article in Wall Street Journal, Exxon Mobil Corp. Chief Executive Rex Tillerson slammed the President-elect's alternative-energy pledge in a Washington speech Thursday, saying it would be impossible to double renewable energy production as energy demand sinks, credit for new investment dries up, and technological advances lag (January 8, 2009).

Another controversial issue in Obama's plan might be passing the employment-law- related changes such as the passage of the legislation that would allow the unionization of the workplaces. With the new administration, it might become easier for unions to organize. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue told the reporters that the Chamber "sees many opportunities to work constructively with the new administration and Congress," but warned that "we will not hesitate to vigorously fight wrong-headed proposals when necessary." Specifically, he mentioned union-backed measures such as card check, trial bar efforts to expand lawsuit abuse, and unworkable regulatory approaches to climate change (January 7, 2009).