Hillary Clinton Offers A $10 Billion Gift To Labor Unions
Industrial Policy: Hillary Clinton’s $10 billion “investment” plan for manufacturing didn’t get much attention. But it should, since it would be a disaster if she ever had the chance to act on it.
Clinton calls her plan “Make it in America,” but you will look in vain to find any part of it that would actually help manufacturing. There’s no talk of reforming corporate taxes, lifting the heavy burden of needless EPA regulations, or reducing the cost of hiring new workers.
Instead, she wants to get government more deeply involved in the industry — by punishing those that dare to move jobs or investment offshore, while rewarding those that do her bidding.
Clinton’s entire plan, it should be noted, is based on a false premise — that manufacturing needs saving by the federal government. It doesn’t. Manufacturing output is 87% higher today than it was in 1987, after inflation. These gains came, however, with 5 million fewer workers, thanks to advances in technology.
All those lost jobs aren’t going to magically reappear as a result of a new spending program, or by attacking firms that move jobs offshore.
Plus, manufacturing has been making something of a comeback on the jobs front on its own, with employment up 838,000 from its lowest point in 2010. And, as former editor-in-chief of the International Business Times Jeffrey Rothfeder points out, reshoring is becoming increasingly popular among domestic manufacturers. These trends would accelerate if the government would simply lift its boot off manufacturers’ necks.
Clinton can’t be entirely unaware of this, or the futility of trying to keep manufacturers by threatening them should they do anything abroad.
Indeed, her plan only makes sense when you realize that its real purpose isn’t to help the manufacturing industry, but to help labor unions.
That becomes clear when you read into the rules governing access to Clinton’s $10 billion “partnership” program funds.
Among other things, to be eligible, manufacturers have to pledge that they won’t use the money “steal” jobs “from other regions.” And her plan “will not allow proposals that undermine worker rights or strong labor and domestic sourcing standards.”
Put those elements together and Clinton’s “Make it in America” plan looks more like a costly effort to counter the trend toward right-to-work states — of which there are now 26. She appears intent on showering taxpayer money only on manufacturers that promise to stay put in high-cost union-friendly states.
Clinton’s plan is crony capitalism at its worst.
