While all the other blog wannabes are off trying to curry favor with CNN’s blog beat reporter Jacki Schechner and producer Abbi Tatton, yesterday our blogger-in-chief was where the real action is, molding young minds, speaking to the 7th and 8th graders at St. Bernadette’s School in Springfield, Va.

Thanks to Mrs. Zadrozny — a great social studies teacher — for the invite. The topic was trade, always a dicey subject. We started out by comparing a few products — bricks, textiles and pharmaceuticals, and their various cost drivers — R&D, capital, labor, transportation, etc. Then we compared those cost drivers here in the US to China.

Next we looked at all the things that drive a nation’s competitiveness: wage rates, utilities (cost and reliability), infrastructure, education and skill level of the workforce, innovation, etc. The US looks pretty good as compared to China in most of these categories, and is what makes us still a world leader in competitiveness.

In any event, a good session all around. Talked about non-production costs, where we lead the world (unfortunately), like legal costs and taxes. Good for the students to hear it. They all got some NAM tchotchkes and some other manufactured products from the Mars Company, for which they were most grateful.

A special thanks to “Mrs. Z” and to the Principal, Sr. Maureen Vellon, for the opportunity, and to 8th grade stand-outs Tom Heitbrink, Kevin Hoonan , Victor Calix and Eric Rasmus and to 7th grade trade experts in the making Joe Kvartunas, Emma Gauthier, Mark McDonnell and Morgan Duffy.

Here’s an updated one-pager from us on this mashugga idea from the Department of Justice to require manufacturers of all sizes to make even their employee-only sections of their facilities ADA-compliant. This even if you don’t have, never had a handicapped employee. Check it out and please take action.

For those of you who don’t understand mashugga, check this link. It’s a veritable treasure trove. These folks from DOJ are giving us the shpilkes!

Yup, you read that right — apparently, AARP is once again out ahead of its members in its hysterical opposition to any kind of Social Security reform. This in spite of the fact that the President has been clear to exempt all AARP members (anyone born before 1950), from any changes in benefits. That’s been lost in the cacophony, but apparently not lost on seniors, according to a new poll.

The poll — conducted by the non-partisan Generations Together showed that three-fifths of voters age 55 and older believe that offering personal retirement accounts to younger workers is a good idea, as long as nothing changes in their own Social Security benefits. In fact, AARP members were slightly more likely to find personal accounts a good idea than non-AARP members. This would put AARP members almost foursquare in opposition to the position taken by their hired hands in Washington. Worse yet for AARP, 65% of their members and 66% of non-AARP seniors believe significant changes are needed to ensure their children and grandchildren will get the Social Security benefits they’ve been promised. The poll was conducted March 6-8 of 800 registered voters age 55 and older. Clearly they see a problem, why doesn’t AARP….?

Heard the one about the Chinese imports arriving on our shores for less than the cost of raw materials…?

We have, too, and now as a result of the NAM’s leadership on this issue, there is a bill introduced in the Congress that will make it easier to press WTO cases against a non-market economy like China for illegal subsidies. Here’s a link to the actual bill, introduced on the House side by Reps. Phil English (R-PA) and Artur Davis (D-AL) and in the Senate by Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Evan Bayh (D-IN), a truly bipartisan effort.

Please write to your member of Congerss and urge them to support the Stop Overseas Subsidies Act. Here’s a sample letter, or to make things easier, here’s a link to send a message, which several hundred of your fellow manufacturers have already done since yesterday.

You regular blog readers know that the UAW tried to thwart the First Amendment and the United States Marines by banning right-thinking Marines from its parking lot on weekends. See this link. Thanks to relentless ridicule generated by this and other blogs, the UAW finally relented and ran with their tails between their legs from one of the most boneheaded PR moves ever made by anyone, since OSHA announced it was going to start inspecting private homes. Here’s the follow-up story about the UAW’s unconditional retreat. This whole episode is still a window to their soul, showing us what they really believe. Sad.

By the way, if you haven’t already done so, check out the comments on that story below. Just click on “View or Submit a Comment” under the UAW story. There are some dissenting views there, views the UAW would never have posted.

The blogger-in-chief is off observing the traditions of this day, the holiest of holies. For more information, try this link, the St. Patrick’s Day website, “Dedicated to the Irish diaspora”. God bless ‘em all. Among other features, it allows you to “find an Irish romance”, but it only goes from ages 18 to 99, so those centenarians among you will have to settle for a younger crowd.

Enjoy!

The Senate finally voted today to clear the way for energy exploration in the Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). This is a debate that got way out of hand over the past many years, thanks to hysteria and disinformation from the environmental community.

Here are the facts: ANWR is a place roughly the size of the state of South Carolina. Today’s bill opens up energy exploration in an area the size of Dulles Airport. Kinda puts it in perspective, doesn’t it? It might also help to know that the actual residents of Alaska strongly support today’s bill. So exactly who is it we’re trying to protect here…? The environmentalists say, “We know better”, once again. But once again, they don’t. Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI) pointed out today that opponents of the Alaska Pipeline once predicted the demise of caribou herds, which in fact grew six-fold since the pipeline began. So much for hysteria.

In any event, a victory for common sense today and an important step toward energy independence and getting those costs under control. Here’s the NAM press release on today’s important vote.

Always trying to chip away at that 22% cost differential…

Here are some tips from our “Energy Efficiency Guidebook“, released last week at National Manufacturing Week. “It illustrates”, said NAM President John Engler, “The innovation of manufacturers in reducing their energy and water costs.”

Some very helpful information in here about best practices on cutting costs, including increasing the energy efficiency of motors and cutting water waste through equipment upgrades. Some good stuff here. It’ll save you some money.

We already know that we labor under a 22% cost disadvantage vs. our trading partners in areas like taxes, energy costs and the granddaddy of ‘em all, legal costs. Here’s an article from CNN about some wacky taxes being assessed by the states, from an illegal drug tax in Tennessee to a 6% tax on tattoos in Arkansas, doubtless a big revenue raiser down there in the Natural State.

Check out this excellent report on the Superfactory blog, a report from an attendee at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month. This line jumped off the page at us: “The countries with the highest level of regulation have the lowest levels of innovation.” So obvious, but so great to see it in black and white. You’ll see a very clear sense that the EU is regulating itself into oblivion while India and China (and the US) run circles around them in terms of innovation, the heartbeat of manufacturing. Let’s hope we learn a lesson from the EU’s chosen path, one they’re trying mightily to reverse.