How to jump start the american dream

How to Jump Start the American Dream One of the best moves we could make to jump start manufacturing in America would be to update its major ports. This is very achievable; allowing American workers to access the American dream; attract more manufacturers from around the world; allow larger ships to dock at our ports.

Could Not Dock Late this summer the world’s newest container ship the Maersk Triple E, which can carry 9,000 40ft. containers, was launched. Do you know how many American ports can handle that large of a ship?

Zero! Nada! Zilch! A slam on us? You got it.

Ports Are Now Scrambling

With a $5 billion dollar upgrade set to double the capacity to the Panama Canal by 2015, larger container ships are due to contact our ports soon.

Major ports are now bum rushing to dredge deeper shipping channels, install higher capacity lifting cranes, and boost overall capacity.

Ports Need Help American ports need help in the form of more public and private investments and streamlined regulatory processes. The current regime in D.C. has recently signed an executive order expediting federal reviews of several infrastructure projects.

Included in the dredging out of the harbors is Jacksonville, Florida, but many other ports are in dire need of dredging needing federal attention and those have not been addressed as of yet. Once again the fed is dragging it’s feet.

New Generation of Factory Workers Needed With new highly advanced technological advances in the works, like 3-D printing & robotics, serious skills are now needed by factory workers. That also means serious money will be needed to upgrade labor pay hence the formation of newer unions to combat management.

Survey Says In a serious 2011 Manufacturing Institute survey, 67% of manufacturing executives reported a major skilled worker shortage. Once again the federal government has chosen to rise to the occasion with an Advancing Innovative Manufacturing Act. This bill would authorize grants for manufacturing programs in community colleges. This bill is now in review by a congressional sub-committee. Similar legislation died last year in committee. The constant

ideological bickering in Congress does not lead this country forward in anyway.

Educators are Moving Forward Educators are not standing idly by like the Congress but are moving forward. North Carolina Central Piedmont Community College is going hand in hand with BMW, Siemens, and other high tech firms to provide students with specific job skills. The rest of the nation’s community colleges are starting to pick up on this need and are trying to fill the niche.

Despite the advances in high tech automation, you just cannot simply have world class manufacturing without world class workers.

Conclusion With a recorded four million college grads out of work nationwide it is time to get out of dad’s basement, put down the play station games, and

move on to the working sector. There is nothing bad about starting at the bottom in a high class company like BMW. Perhaps they will recognize your genius in the work force and give you a management job. With the economy still in the recessionary mode what better way to dig in for the long haul then to get some training and actually go to work to contribute to society. Capitalism isn’t so bad when it’s putting money in your pocket is it?