Governance Needs to Replace Campaigning
Randy Wolken, President & CEO
The events of the past few months have demonstrated to me, once again, the importance of our democracy. As a former US Army member and West Point graduate, I am reminded of how important elections are to our way of life. We are a country well known for its peaceful transitions of power after contested elections. It’s now time to honor this tradition with dignity and respect for our democratic way of life.
The elections are past us now. In both Washington and Albany, newly elected officials now need to begin to govern. MACNY remains committed to working with our elected officials to enhance and grow manufacturing and our economy. It is time for us to focus on one vital lesson learned during the pandemic and economic resurgence: US Manufacturing matters significantly to the health and well-being of our nation. We learned the hard way that we need to make vital products such as healthcare supplies here, so they are readily available when we need them. We also need to make so many more of the products we use, in the US. It’s vital to our national defense and our overall economic vitality. We will need strong public policy to make that a reality.
We need better public policies that encourage domestic production. As our nation moves away from this election cycle, strong growth policies will help us put people to work and enhance local manufacturing. This helps everyone. Manufacturing jobs pay the best of any industry and are accessible to individuals with skills training and college degrees. We can lead the development of state-of-the-art technologies to solve our most complex challenges. New York can lead in so many ways and a healthy manufacturing and technology base will allow New York to surge in the years ahead.
In order to do this, we need many more skilled workers. MACNY and our Manufacturers Alliance Partners focus on apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship paths to help members and others secure the workforce needed. The NYS MIAP program is the nation-leading approach to assisting companies in finding and training the talent they need. We are also the state leader in helping businesses connect to PTECH programs and Career Awareness at the middle and high school levels. As a nation and state, we must invest even more in creating paths to high-tech careers.
We will need tax policies and other incentives to encourage capital investment and production of manufactured goods in New York State and the US. It is a global competition to secure these outstanding jobs and companies, and we must find the will and way to see it happen here. We can build back better with innovative growth policies. Such policies will lead us to success as we secure the companies that will employ our communities’ individuals. Creating a robust growth ecosystem must be a top priority of local, state, and federal representatives.
When we focus on growing manufacturing, we can lead the development of our communities. This must be our goal as we work together to create a better future for ourselves and our children.