Milken: Manufacturing Losses Calif. 'Canary in Coal Mine'
The Milken Institute is out this week with a new report, which can be read as a companion piece of sorts to this recent release.
The new text is titled, "Manufacturing 2.0: A More Prosperous California." Written by Ross C. DeVol, Perry Wong, Armen Bedroussian, Candice Flor Hynek and David Rice, the report details the state's -- and the nation's -- loss of manufacturing jobs, analyzes the impact of those losses, and makes recommendations on how to alter that trend.
In the subsection titled, "A Call to Action for California," the authors lay out nine bullet-pointed "principles" -- calling for "broad economic reforms," for instance; and "public-private partnerships;" and "encouraging environmentally sustainable manufacturing processes...."
Later, a conclusion to the chapter, "Turning the Tide: Investing in Manufacturing" reads:
"California's manufacturing industry, although in decline, holds the key to the state's economic growth. The state's global reputation as the cradle of American ingenuity begins with California's manufactures and depends on their capacity to compete. Manufacturing increases overall economic growth, pays higher wages, and drives overall exports. Therefore, as a critical engine of economic growth and a frequesnt catalyst for innovation, the decline of the state's manufacturing industry is the canary in the coal mine for the California economy as a whole."
The report was financed in part by the California Manufacturers & Technology Assocation. Milken is upfront about that connection, noting it clearly on page 3 of the report and in an executive summary.
The 96-page report -- about half of which are appendices -- as well as the summary, and data sets used in the creation of the work, are all available for free-of-charge download. A print copy of the report is also available.
Photo Credit: The image accompanying this post was taken by Flickr user adobemac. It was used underCreative Commons license.
