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Posted on 09/25/2001 6:48:49 PM PDT by Starmaker

Roger Milliken is one of the most remarkable people I have ever met. Long after his contemporaries have retired, Milliken still walks the halls of Congress trying to get Members to stop and listen to what is happening to this country. He doesn't hire slick PR people to do his work for him, he does it himself. While many manufacturing firms have huge Washington offices, Milliken employs Jock Nash, a former legislative assistant to Senator Paul Laxalt (R- NV.) who works on trade issues as tirelessly as Milliken himself.

Milliken was recently inducted into the Textile Hall of Fame. He gave his acceptance speech at the American Textile History Museum in Lowell, Mass., thought to be the birthplace of manufacturing in the United States. Milliken gave his speech on the day before the United States was struck by the terrible terrorists. In his speech Milliken lamented the fact that the manufacturing sector of the economy will lose over one million "high paying middle class jobs." That, he said, was four times the number of such jobs lost in the year 2000. With the thousands upon thousands of layoffs that have been announced since September 11th, I hate to think of what the final number for this year will end up being.

Milliken said "we are in an era of so called 'globalization' and everyone talks about the 'new economy'.....Isn't it our leaders' responsibility to insure that this country and its people survive this period strong and prosperous? A fatal flaw of the current idea of 'globalization' is the lack of recognition that subsidized global production creates a strong incentive to create overproduction that outstrips global demand." And here is a point Milliken makes which our free traders ought to think about. Except for Milliken, I never hear this point discussed as Congress debates giving the president greater and greater "fast-track" authority to negotiate trade agreements: "A further flaw" says Milliken, "is the lack of recognition that in emerging economies the people and manufacturing production workers ARE NOT PAID ENOUGH TO BUY WHAT THEY MAKE. Instead the fruits of their labor are subsidized and shipped to the United States, which serves as THE market of first and last resort. In the process, our standard of living is undermined and both political and economic instability is increased."

But Milliken points out economic stability is an overriding responsibility of a sound government. Mounting consumer debt, says Milliken, helped fuel the boom of the 1990s. Despite strong productivity growth, the 80 percent of the country's wage earners and their families who work for others have not seen an increase in their real income over the past twenty years.

Milliken pointed out that we continued the growth of consumer spending but we did it on credit. Thus, he said, American consumers have been spending more than their earnings at the expense of savings. The result, says Milliken, is that we are consuming as a nation ONE BILLION DOLLARS MORE EACH DAY THAN WE PRODUCE. "These facts are a prescription for social, political and economic unrest. Our manufacturing base is being eroded as dollars are diverted from wealth creation to wealth consumption. If economic history has any lesson for us, it is that a nation's well being is determined by what it produces, not by how much it consumes," Milliken said. He went on to cite examples from Spain, the Dutch and the British empires all of which declined because they neglected their manufacturing bases. Milliken warns that the United States will go the way of the other nations "if we continue sacrificing our manufacturing base on the alter of free and unfettered trade."

Most of the conservative movement supports more and more free trade. Yet I never hear the leaders address the issues that Milliken raises. The man ought to be listened to carefully. Unlike some in the textile industry he has taken good care of his employees. He has re-invested his profits into new and better machinery. The productivity of his people is remarkable. As soon as someone dares to mention the issues Milliken raises, they are immediately labeled as backward and reactionary, afraid of the brave new world. Well, with what Milliken has done for manufacturing in this country he at least deserves a fair hearing. And the questions he raises ought to be answered with real data, not sneering remarks.

Roger Milliken richly deserves the honor bestowed upon him by his peers. Now the question is, will the nation's leaders honor him by giving him the time of day?

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