Great story in the Business section of yesterday’s WaPo by Cecilia Kang about Micron Technology’s decision to locate its plant in Manassas, Virginia, outside Washington DC. As you can see from the article, this decision to locate some 800 jobs has had an enormous economic impact on the region.

People often forget — or just don’t appreciate — manufacturing’s impact on the economy. Most Governors are not in doubt, however, as they get in bidding wars to attract new manufacturing facilities all the time. And you can see why. A study done by George Mason University for Micron about their impact showed that every dollar spent by Micron generated:

The local Toyota dealership is leasing 100 cars to Micron for its employees’ use. The local sandwich shop has 10 more customers a day, by their reckoning. One study estimates that Micron’s investment has generated 1500 jobs in the retail and restaurant sectors alone

So next time somebody tells you that manufacturing doesn’t matter, point them toward Manassas, Virginia and the great story of Micron Technology’s move to Manassas, Virginia. Manufacturing and manufacturers continue to power this economy.

If Congress figures that out, they just might pass the energy bill.

They dropped again. Not like you’ll hear it on the news…..

Good column by that subtitle in yesterday’ Wall Street Journal. Authored by Kimberley Strassel, it talks about how business is finally battling back in judge’s races against activist judges. Says Strassel:

“If there’s a godfather of this movement it might be John Engler, who realized early in his 1990s career as Michigan governor that tort reform didn’t count for much if state courts routinely struck down new laws… As governor, he made judges a top priority, one reason why Michigan’s high court is today a national model of judicial restraint. Mr. Engler carried that philosophy to his presidency of the National Association of Manufacturers.”

She’s right, the boss is a warrior when it comes to this issue, one so critically important to all manufacturers. Strassel goes on to talk about the American Justice Partnership:

“Last year, NAM launched the American Justice Partnership, an umbrella organization that brings together a mindboggling array of national and state organizations–industry groups, chambers, think tanks, citizens’ groups — fighting for legal reform. ‘Legal reform has become a full contact sport,’ says Steve Hantler, assistant general counsel of Daimler-Chrysler and chairman of AJP. ‘More business leaders and consumer groups have realized this fight is in the political arena, and you can’t leave that arena to the trial bar.’”

Here’s a link to the full op-ed, a good read. And here’s a link to the AJP website, where you can get more involved in this most important effort.

In a provocative op-ed in Monday’s Christian Science Monitor, George C. Leef questions the educational and career value of a four-year college education, at least as currently marketed to potential students. The executive director of the John William Pope Center for Higher Education in Raleigh, N.C, Leef argues that government subsidies, errant guidance counselors and a misguided reliance on a college degree as a job-screening (credentializing) device encourage indifferent students to enroll, even when better options are available. And there’s political pressure to enroll — if not graduate — more college students.

Manufacturers might stress a different critique than Leef’s — the “skills gap” directs our attention to the need for highly skilled, technically trained workers — but it’s hard to disagree with these recommendations:

To turn out a more capable crop of young adults, colleges and universities should do their part: Raise academic standards to ensure that only those who want to be in college get there. Also, admissions counselors should remind prospective students that there are good career options for those who don’t feel drawn to scholarly work. America is so rich in learning opportunities other than those found in college classrooms that we don’t need to raise college graduation statistics for mere numbers’ sake.

Leef’s op-ed draws from his recent paper, The Overselling of Higher Education. Well worth reading.

The Orange County Register points out what should be obvious. By suing the major automotive companies for alleged damages caused by alleged global warming, California’s Attorney General, Bill Lockyer, is sending a clear message to all manufacturers, large and small: Go away. Go far, far away.

The world’s largest car manufacturers are not about to abandon California, of course, but the lawsuit reinforces the message to smaller companies that California is hostile to business. Mr. Lockyer seeks billions of dollars from the companies. If he succeeds, California car buyers will be forced to pay higher prices for their vehicles. The American auto industry is struggling at this time, as General Motors, Ford and now Chrysler are announcing layoffs and plant closures to stop massive losses. This type of regulatory overreach will only make it more difficult for U.S. companies to compete, and could result in further cutbacks in auto industry jobs.

Carmakers are building cleaner and more efficient automobiles in response to market demand. Yet instead of working cooperatively with automakers to achieve additional efficiency goals, Mr. Lockyer is going for the headlines by filing a lawsuit based on ephemeral legal grounds.

We’d say welcome to California, except that there is no welcome sign out in this state for business.

Here again from the office of the White House Press Secretary is the President’s schedule for this week. You’ll see a fair amount of travel on here, a visit to a manufacturer in Cincinnati today and a few visits with various heads of state.

Click here to view the schedule.

Congress is in the home stretch. Hope springs eternal, and let’s hope so will natural gas in the Outer Continental Shelf. While you’re sitting there, click here to weigh in with your member of Congress and two Senators. Tel them you don’t want them to come home without passing an energy bill.

Could be a long winter…..

It’s been almost three years since we issued our landmark study that showed that we suffer a 22% non-wage disadvantage vs. our trading partners — no, make that “competitors” — in areas like energy, legal costs, and taxes.

That study has been updated and as Bill Canis noted below, we are issuing the new findings on Wednesday of this week. The last study ended up getting literally thousands of press and Congressional mentions. We expect this one will, too, and hopefully will lay the groundwork for efforts to drive those costs down.

Here’s a link to our announcement. Drop us an e-mail if you’re interested in attending the event. Wanna guess which way the costs have gone in the past 3 years…?

We’ll be posting a copy of the full study in this space on Wednesday.

A busy week around the NAM this week, with the issuance of the manufacturing skills standards, the update of the cost study and the semi-annual NAM Board of Directors meeting. The Board will meet from Tuesday through Thursday, and will cover all relevant issues — from taxes, to trade, to legal reform and health care. They will hear from Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, among other luminaries.

Watch this space for updates throughout the week.

By the time you read this we’ll be under way this morning with NAM President John Engler and Jim McCaslin, CEO of Harley-Davidson along with representatives from Ford, the United Steelworkers and the Manufacturing Skills Standard Council. They’ll be announcing the launch of a national certification program for skilled production workers, which will enable aspiring manufacturing workers to know precisely what skills they need to work in manufacturing and help prospective employers to identify qualified applicants.

Here’s a link to the announcement. Watch this space for more details later today and tomorrow.

[UPDATE, by Blogger's Apprentice]: Here’s a link to watch the press conference from the event.