Make It In America, Updated Edition

America used to define itself by the things we built. We designed and produced the world's most important innovations, and in doing so, created a vibrant manufacturing sector that established the middle class. We manufactured our way to the top and became the undisputed economic leader of the world. But over the last several decades, and especially in the last ten years, the sector that was America's great pride has eroded, costing us millions of jobs and putting our long-term prosperity at risk. Now, as we struggle to recover from the worst recession in generations, our only chance to turn things around is to revive the American manufacturing sector—and to revolutionize it. In Make It in America: The Case for Reinventing the Economy, Andrew Liveris—Chairman and CEO of The Dow Chemical Company—offers a thoughtful and passionate argument that America's future economic growth and prosperity depends on the strength of its manufacturing sector.

• The book explains how a manufacturing sector creates economic value on a scale unmatched by any other, and how central the sector is to creating jobs both inside and outside the factory
• Explores how other nations are building their manufacturing sectors to stay competitive in the global economy, and describes how America has failed to keep up
• Provides an aggressive, practical, and comprehensive agenda that will put the U.S. back on track to lead the world

It's time to stop accepting as inevitable the shuttering of factories and staggering job losses that have come to define manufacturing. It's time to acknowledge the cost of inaction. There is no better company to make the case for reviving U.S. manufacturing than The Dow Chemical Company, one of the world's largest manufacturers and most global corporations. And there's no better book to show why it needs to be done and how to do it than Make It in America.

Preface xiii

Acknowledgments xix

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 The Rise and Fall 11

How We Fell Out of Love with Manufacturing 14

The Multiplier Effect 19

Manufacturing Tomorrow 22

Surviving the Crisis 25

A Tale of Two Nations 27

Chapter 2 Separating What Can’t Be Separated 31

The Truth about the Manufacturing Crisis 36

Adding Value the Only Way We Can 40

Trying to Survive on Ideas Alone 44

Where Manufacturing Goes, the Ideas Follow 49

Chapter 3 Fighting Offshoring 53

Should I Stay or Should I Go? 56

It Isn’t What You Think 59

Taxing Problems 63

Funding the Future 67

Regulating Our Way into a Muddle 69

Trading Our Way to Prosperity 73

Chapter 4 Energy Drives the World 81

A Big Energy Bill, and Not Just for Power 82

The New New 87

Germany’s Green Miracle 91

China’s Green Revolution 94

America Can’t Compete 98

Chapter 5 Building Tomorrow 103

Education: “A Permanent National Recession” 105

Developing the Right Skills for the New Workplace 109

Preventing a Worker Shortage 111

What America Doesn’t Understand That Other Nations Do 114

The Tortoise and the Hare 117

A New Foundation of Infrastructure 118

Funding the Future 124

Chapter 6 Built to Compete 129

An Ambitious Agenda 132

Changing the Way We Tax 134

National Incentive Strategy 136

Regulatory Policy 137

Everyone Needs Good Trading Partners 141

Chapter 7 The Long Game 145

The Human Element: Education and Immigration 147

Innovation and Competitiveness 154

Chapter 8 The Fork in the Road 163

Epilogue 175

Bibliography 189

About the Author 213

About The Dow Chemical Company 215

Index 217

Andrew N. Liveris is President, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of The Dow Chemical Company, a $54 billion global specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences, and plastics company. Liveris serves as Co-Chair of President Obama's Advanced Manufacturing Partnership. He serves on the board of directors of IBM, and is Vice Chairman of The Business Council, Vice Chair of the Business Roundtable, a member of the President's Export Council, and President and Chairman of the International Council of Chemical Associations. He is a member of the U.S.-India CEO Forum, Peterson Institute for International Economics, and the American Australian Association. He serves on the board of trustees for The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation, United States Council for International Business, and Tufts University.

Praise for Make It In America: The Case for Re-Inventing the Economy

"Andrew presents a realistic and informed view of America's manufacturing problems and what needs to be done about them." —Warren E. Buffett

"A well-written and timely book that deserves wide circulation. Everyone concerned with America's economic difficulties should read it." —The Washington Examiner

"Mr. Liveris here raises an interesting argument and calls for new thinking."—THE Washington Times

"This book serves as a clarion call for rebuilding the United States' manufacturing base."—New York Journal of Books

"Calls for a national strategy to revive manufacturing . . . doesn't shy away from proposing ideas that have defeated countless other reformers." —The Wall Street Journal

"Perhaps because Liveris is Australian by birth, his economic patriotism comes across asgenuine and heartfelt." —The Washington Post

"Liveris delivers a clear and compelling case for maintaining a robust manufacturing sector in the global marketplace of the twenty-first century. Every American who is concerned about the current or future state of our economy should read this book. For those who believe, asI do, that a strong manufacturing base is vital to creating jobs, innovation, and prosperity, this is a book to read and recommend to everyone you know."—Bill Ford, Executive Chairman, Ford Motor Company

"The perspective of a chief executive who is really makingvital decisions about the location of manufacturing plantsand research centers is well worth hearing . . . full of stimulating ideas and remarkably well written." —The Financial Times