Political Quotes

“Mr. President, over the last several months, I put my staff on a little mission. I asked them to identify manufacturing companies in my home State of Illinois that have not only weathered this recession but are doing well and are hiring. I wanted to meet with these companies and find out why the recession has treated them differently, particularly when it comes to manufacturing jobs. I have been pleasantly surprised at how many businesses I have found to be in that condition in my State. Not to understate our unemployment rate or the impact of the recession on many businesses, the fact is there are some that have not only weathered the storm but are doing quite well, and they represent a variety of different goods that they manufacture. The heartening and encouraging news is that we are hearing more often that companies have decided to resource their jobs back to the United States. In his State of the Union Address, the President spoke of one such company, Master Lock, located in Milwaukee, WI, which he noted has now announced that they think America is the best place to make products and do business. That is a good trend we want to encourage. We know we have lost a goodly share of manufacturing jobs over the last several years. In the year 2000, more than 17 million Americans were employed in manufacturing. Ten years later, the number had fallen to 11.5 million--from 17 million to 11.5 million.…”