Voters are keenly aware of the difficulties facing American manufacturers today and want the federal government to invest more in the sector and adopt trade policies that level the playing field, according to a new survey conducted by the Mellman Group and Ayres McHenry Associates for the Alliance for American Manufacturing.
Recognizing that manufacturing is critical to the overall health of the American economy, far more important than even health care, finance and banking or high-tech industries, Americans are eager for the government to do more to protect that vital sector of the economy.
The poll found that 85 percent of Americans believe that creating manufacturing jobs is either the most or a very important job for the policymakers in Washington.
Support for manufacturing is truly a bipartisan cause, with a majority of Republicans (66 percent), Democrats (67 percent) and independents (64 percent) believing that “manufacturing is a critical part of the American economy and we need a manufacturing base here if this country and our children are to thrive in the future.”
Because of the loss of its manufacturing base, many Americans no longer believe that it can be considered the world’s top economy. Nearly six in 10 - 58 percent - believe that the U.S. is no longer the strongest economy in the world. However, 67 percent believe it is very important for the U.S. to be the world’s top economy.
“This is a blunt message for Washington. A majority of likely voters say the U.S. no longer has the world’s strongest economy, and that Washington isn’t doing enough to promote manufacturing despite the contributions this sector makes to America’s economic security, our independence and our ability to stay ahead of global competition,” said AAM Executive Director Scott Paul.