The first Presidential Debate has come and gone. Predictions were for a viewing audience of 45 to 55 million American voters. I hope they were mostly Democratic and I also hope they were paying attention, it was an eye opening 90 minutes. The President had no worthwhile answers to any questions pertaining to the needs of the country and its people. That is YOU and the country is OURS.
Last Monday I attended a Manufacturing Summit in Cleveland. The summit was hosted by the Northeasts Ohio Chapter of the Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI) of which we are members. The meeting took place in Cleveland at Jergens, Inc., a manufacturer of tools and tooling attachments, etc. for the metalworking industry. What I came away with was that everyone there, with the possible exception of the representative from Sherrod Brown’s office, is in agreement on the following:
- American business is too heavily taxed
- American business is too heavily regulated
- The American economy is half in the tank now and if the current administration remains in power, recession is more than likely.
- The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Report on Business was issued on Monday. The index rose to 51.5, an increase of 1.9 points. This puts the index back in growth territory and in fact would be consistent with a GDP growth rate of 3% IF sustained.
- A survey by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) found
- 2/3 of small business owners and manufacturers said there is too much uncertainty in the economy right now to expand operations
- 55% of respondents said, given what they know today about the economic climate that they would not choose to start a business
- According to the Minneapolis/St Paul Business Journal, ” Business cited health insurance costs, government spending, and federal, state and local taxes as the top challenges facing their businesses.”
- Regulations were also among the top concerns with 55% of respondents saying they believe the federal government’s regulatory environment is getting worse, not better.
- American Metal Market (AMM) reports today ferrous scrap prices have taken a tumble of between $60 and $65 per gross ton for October deliveries based on steel mills trading results in Detroit on Thursday.
