C. Stoffo Jr.

Manufacturing

Rut

How's Business

My business is mechanical systems design for process plants. Over the past thirty-five years, during times that the general economy was slow, my work was steady, because I was building or upgrading plants to make things to sell in a year or so. So I could reasonably believe that everyone else would be okay in a year or so.

The past two years have been very slow for me. In 2010 I've done about one-quarter of the business that I usually do. This was by far the worst year I've ever had. Further, I do not have any positive signs for the foreseeable future. Therefore, I do not see the larger economy turning around in the foreseeable future.

We are doing nothing to make things turn for the better. In terms of simple arithmetic -- we must sell more to others than we buy from them. But we do not have much to sell because we do not make much here anymore. We have chased industry out of the country by the means of worker safety laws, environmental protection laws, and an elitist attitude that looks down upon manual labor -- even if that manual labor is skilled craft work.

As to the safety and environmental laws -- I support them. But we buy most of our manufactured goods from China where the government does not care about its people's or the earth's health.

As to the elitist attitude of worship-of-credentials and corresponding disdain-for-labor, I ask you: if all of the lawyers in the country took a month off, and all of the plumbers took a day off, who would be missed more?

Hackensack, NJ