Manufacturing and the Federal Budget

What should taxpayers support?

Downtown Pittsburgh. The Pennsylvania MEP has helped 86 businesses.
Thu, 02/23/2017 - 12:03

The U.S. national debt currently stands at approximately $20 trillion. In the time it will take you to read this article, the debt will increase by a couple of million dollars more. Regardless of where one stands on the political spectrum, these facts are stark and shocking.

ADVERTISEMENT

 …

Want to continue?
Log in or create a FREE account.
By logging in you agree to receive communication from Quality Digest. Privacy Policy.

Comments

Submitted by Jasonrh003 on Thu, 02/23/2017 - 06:59

Here we go again, on a war path to cut spending everywhere but here.

Take it away from programs and projects but never from their own pockets. A large chunk can be cut from the representatives themselves and the “fringe benefits” they enjoy. I don’t want to turn this into a political tirade but come on!!  If I’m short on money each month the couch cushions only provide so much, maybe I should stop going to movies and restaurants every day?  They never look inward for improvement only outward and it’s aggravating. You want to cut spending? Ok, no move government cars you can use public transportation. Install a punch clock, you are paid like the rest of us only when you’re on the clock.

You want to cut spending start in your own pockets. 

Thanks, Jason... no doubt, government can and should look inward as well to address the stunning national debt. But we have to face reality here: programs will be cut in the 2018 budget. Should the MEP be one of them? I believe the numbers show that it's worth the $130M~ annual investment, but there's a case to be made that programs like the MEP, as solid as the ROI might be, still edge into corporate welfare and should be resisted. I'm eager to hear arguments in support of that notion from our readers.

Interesting article.  The work the MEP is doing sounds very helpful for manufacturing.

However, business is based on return on investment.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but the MEP web site states "For every one dollar of federal investment, the MEP national network generates $17.9 in new sales growth for manufacturers...".  For $1 of investment, the manufacturer's profit margin would have to be at least 5.6% to break even on $17.90.  That's probably reasonable in most cases.  But with taxpayers footing the investment, their return is much lower.  It would seem doing this privately would be the better option.

I agree that the cost is miniscule compared to the $3.5 trillion budget and there are many other programs that cost more and return less.  So maybe we address those programs first.  But in the long run, this too should be cut in favor of a private operation if we want to limit the federal government to only their constitutional responsibility.

But that's just my opinion - I could be wrong.

Thanks, Bill... interesting perspective. Yes, private investors are good options here, and the local MEP centers do reach out for this type of support already. If federal funding were to be removed, they would push for even higher levels of private investment. However, as I understand it, the idea is not necessarily to enrich investors as it is to transfer best practices, support innovation, and create jobs for these small manufacturers. That's a public benefit and, to my mind as a taxpayer, something worth paying for... at least as much as Indiana citizens should pay to keep Carrier jobs in state!

Add new comment