Earlier this year in Detroit, Romney said that the President was "out of touch" for encouraging young people for pursuing manufacturing jobs. And Romney repeatedly vetoed funding for manufacturing when he was Governor of Massachusetts - manufacturing jobs declined by twice the national rate in Massachusetts under Romney.  But as a corporate buyout specialist, it’s clear that Romney’s priority is profits, not the lives of middle-class families.  

ROMNEY HAS REPEATEDLY SCOFFED AT PRESIDENT OBAMA ENCOURAGING YOUNG PEOPLE TO PURSUE MANUFACTURING

• Romney Said “The President Seems To Be Out Of Touch” For Encouraging Young People To Pursue Manufacturing Jobs. “At the stop in Detroit, Romney said Obama showed he was ‘out of touch’ this week when he encouraged young people to pursue manufacturing jobs. ‘Last month, 5,000 people lost their jobs in manufacturing,’ Romney said. ‘The president seems to be out of touch.’” [Detroit News, 6/9/11 ]

• Romney “Appeared To Scoff… At The Notion Of Manufacturing As A Job Engine For The Future.” “Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and the Republican frontrunner, opposed the federal bailout of the auto industry and appeared to scoff this month, first in Detroit, then in Florida, at the notion of manufacturing as a job engine for the future.” [Wall Street Journal, 6/24/11] 

• Romney “Twice This Month Said That The President Was Out Of Touch For Suggesting Young People Go Into Manufacturing” But “We Have Had Manufacturing Growth That Rivals The Levels Of The 1980s.”  Jonathan Weisman said in an interview on the manufacturing industry: “Actually, Obama sees and opening here because Mitt Romney, twice this month said that the president was ‘out of touch’ for suggesting young people go into manufacturing, go into community college to study, different kind of high-end manufacturing techniques and if fact if you look at the sort of sluggish recovery of jobs, manufacturing is one of the bright spots. Not particularly beaming but we have had good strong manufacturing growth. We have had manufacturing growth that rivals the levels of the 1980s.” [News Hub, Wall Street Journal, 6/24/11]
   

MANUFACTURING WAS DEVASTATED UNDER ROMNEY IN MASSACHUSETTS
 

• Romney’s Budget Cuts To Manufacturing Partnership Hampered Effort To Save Thousands Of Jobs.  “Romney’s recent move to slice $425 million from state spending will hamper the efforts of a program that has helped hundreds of small manufacturers compete, survive, and save thousands of jobs.  The program, the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership, or MassMEP, is jointly funded by state and federal governments and considered by business officials to be a particularly effective economic development effort… Over the past five years, MassMEP has helped small manufacturers create or retain some 3,000 jobs, generate sales of more than $300 million, and undertake nearly $100 million in new investments, according to annual client surveys.”  [Boston Globe, 11/23/06]
• Under Romney Manufacturing Jobs In Massachusetts Declined By Twice The National Average—“The Third Worst Record In The Country.” “Manufacturing payroll employment throughout the nation declined by nearly 1.1 million or 7 percent between 2002 and 2006, but in Massachusetts it declined by more than 14 percent, the third worst record in the country.” [Boston Globe, 7/29/07]
   

ROMNEY AXED FUNDING FOR THE MASSACHUSETTS MANUFACTURING EXTENTION PARTNERSHIP WHICH HELPS SMALL MANUFACTURERS WITH WORKFORCE TRAINING AND OPERATION IMPROVEMENTS

• 2006: Romney Vetoed More Than $700,000 In Funding For The Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership, Which Was Then Overridden By The Legislature. “Beacon Hill Roll Call recorded local representatives and senators' votes on two roll calls from prior legislative sessions. There were no roll call votes in the House or Senate this past week. The House (143-10) and the Senate (34-2) overrode Gov. Mitt Romney’s veto of $706,666 in funding for the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MassMEP). Supporters of the $706,666 said MassMEP is an important group that provides small Massachusetts manufacturers with affordable and innovative solutions to their problems. They said it helps leverage many public and private resources and services to help these small companies become more competitive and profitable. Opponents acknowledged that MassMEP has helped many companies but argued that it should fund itself by the revenue that it generates from charging fees for its services.” [Westboro News, 12/14/06]

• 2006: Romney Vetoed Roughly $557,000 For The Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership From A Stimulus Bill. “Business leaders are looking to salvage various projects following Gov. Mitt Romney's 39 vetoes of sections of the economic stimulus bill passed earlier this month. Among those items top on the list: worker training money, international trade stimulus and tax incentives and funding for manufacturing companies… Restoring $11 million in new work force training money begged for by business leaders during the legislature's job growth listening tour last year tops both Bosley's and Rodrigues' agendas. Manufacturing consultant Jack Healy said about $557,000 in funding for his Worcester-based Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership, which aids small manufacturers, and language allowing cities and towns to grant tax incentives to companies sinking cash into worker training are critical.” [Boston Business Journal, 6/3/06]

• 2005: Romney Vetoed $850,000 For The Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership, Which Was Overridden By The Legislature. “The House and Senate yesterday overrode almost $60 million of the $110 million Gov. Mitt Romney vetoed from the Legislature's budget for fiscal 2006. Included was restoration of $250,000 cut by Mr. Romney for the Massachusetts Biotechnology Initiative based in Worcester, bringing its funding back to the $500,000 level appropriated last year. The Legislature also reversed an $850,000 budget veto for the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership based in Worcester and restored $80,900 earmarked for the Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance Donations Clearinghouse.” [Worcester Telegram & Gazette, 7/15/05]

• Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership Is A Nonprofit Which Assists Small Manufacturers With Improving Operations. “But high-tech products don't entirely explain the resilience of the state's manufacturing sector, said Jack Healy, director of the nonprofit Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership, which assists small manufacturers with improving operations. Low-tech products are also being made here competitively thanks to what are known as ‘lean’ or ‘advanced’ manufacturing approaches, he said.” [Boston Business Journal, 5/27/11]

• Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership Hosts A Network Of Manufacturing Extension Centers That Provide Business And Technical Assistance To Smaller Manufacturers In All 50 States, DC, And Puerto Rico. “The MassMEP (www.massmep.org) is an affiliate of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) under the U.S. Department of Commerce. The national MEP system is a network of manufacturing extension centers that provide business and technical assistance to smaller manufacturers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Through MEP, manufacturers have access to more than 2,000 manufacturing and business ‘coaches’ whose job is to help firms make changes that lead to greater productivity, increased profits and enhanced global competitiveness.”  [Press Release, MassMEP. 5/5/11]

MANUFACTURING GROWTH HAS BEEN A LEADING CONTRIBUTOR TO THE RECOVERY

• “Durable–Goods Manufacturing Led The Recovery In U.S. Real GDP By State In 2010; It Was The Leading Contributor To Real GDP Growth In Seven Of The Eight BEA Regions And In 29 States.” [BEA, 6/7/2011]

• The Manufacturing Industry Added 308,000 Jobs From December 2009 Through November 2011. [data.bls.gov, 12/2/2011]

• Manufacturing Has Added More Jobs In Each Of The Last Two Years Than Any Year Since 1997. [data.bls.gov, accessed 11/4/2011]

• The Wall Street Journal Called Manufacturing A “Bright Spot” In The Job Market. [WSJ, 6/24/2011]

• The Manufacturing Sector Expanded For The 28th Consecutive Month Through November 2011. [ISM Report On Business, 12/1/2011]

• The U.S. Economy Has Added 2.9 Million Private Sector Jobs Over The Last 21 Months. [data.bls.gov, accessed 12/2/2011]

• Private Sector Job Growth Has Continued For 21 Consecutive Months.  [data.bls.gov, accessed 12/2/2011]

• President Obama LaunchedThe Advanced Manufacturing Partnership, “A National Effort Bringing Together Industry, Universities, And The Federal Government To Invest In The Emerging Technologies.” [White House Press Release, 6/24/2011]
   

 
PRESIDENT OBAMA LAUNCHED THE RECOVERY ACT, WHICH INDEPENDENT ECONOMISTS ESTIMATE RAISED EMPLOYMENT IN MANUFACTURING AND CONSTRUCTION BY OVER 1 MILLION JOBS

• According To Economists At The Federal Reserve Of San Francisco, “The Construction Sector Is Estimated To Have Created Or Saved 1.0 Million Jobs (13.2%) In The ARRA’s First Year, Suggesting The Sector Was One Of The Key Beneficiaries Of The ARRA.” [Federal Reserve Bank Of San Francisco, Working Paper 2010-17, October 2011 ]

• Manufacturing Is Estimated To Have Increased Net Employment By 200,000 Jobs (1.9%) Through February 2010.  [Federal Reserve Bank Of San Francisco, Working Paper 2010-17, October 2011]