Santorum's Made-in-America Plan and Small Town USA

Santorum's Made in America economic plan reveals his profound insight into the intersection of economic dynamics and America's social fiber. It is a workable plan which not only will be effective in promoting the nation's economic health, but will also impact society where it needs it the most.

I am amazed at how easily politicians have given up on America's manufacturing base. The various economic proposals of other candidates do little to address manufacturing. Rather, they all emphasize service sector and high tech opportunities, and private enterprise. All these are good, but do nothing for manufacturing. In contrast, the centerpiece of Santorum's economic plan is his Made in America plan to revitalize manufacturing. It does so by eliminating the corporate income tax for manufacturers - from 35% to 0, and eliminating the tax on repatriated taxable corporate income - from 35% from 0% - when manufacturers invest in plant and equipment here in the U.S.

While manufacturing jobs are a major part of many larger cities, they are the absolute heartline for many of the smaller towns in middle America. When a manufacturing plant shuts down in smaller towns like Greensburg Indiana, Pottstown Pennsylvania, or Urbana Ohio, the effects can be crippling.

I watched the movie Madison this week, and it details the kinds of things which are at the core of Santorum's concern over the disproportionate impact that the loss of manufacturing has on small towns. Madison is a small town in Indiana on the Ohio River. When one plant after another shuts down, people move to the cities, home values drop, the town is no longer able to provide services, downtown stores and offices get boarded up, and the town dies. No one is left except those who are dependent upon Welfare.

The importance of manufacturing jobs is also seen in that the typical blue collar worker makes $20,000 more annually than an equally educated person in the service sector. A high school graduate can make a good wage working in a factory, while a high school graduate stuck in the service sector will hardly surpass minimum wage. Manufacturing jobs offer significant income opportunities for those who do not go to college. Without manufacturing jobs, only those who can get advanced degrees in technology or administration are likely to achieve a good income.

When manufacturing plants shut down in Small Town, America, another negative social effect is that people resort to moving to the big city. They leave behind safer neighborhoods where kids have big yards to play in and everyone knows everyone else, and end up living in neighborhoods full of crime, where gangs are rampant, schools are violent, and community hardly exists. The move from Small Town, America also entails going from a place where traditional values such as faith and family and hard work are cherished to a place where elitism, political correctness, and entitlementism abounds. The loss of manufacturing jobs affects much more than a person's income; it impacts the very social fiber of America.

This is why I assert that Santorum's Made in America plan is not only smart, but profound. By revitalizing manufacturing, Santorum will help revitalize America's social fabric.

Santorum's Made in America also has its political benefits. It attracts blue collar workers and Reagan Democrats to him. It makes him politically viable in the Midwest. Any Republican can win Texas or Florida or New Mexico. But a Romney or a Gingrich probably will not win Pennsylvania, a purplish state that hasn't voted for a Republican president since 1988. A Perry is not likely to win Ohio or Michigan. Michele Bachmann may not even deliver her own state of Minnesota. But Santorum's Made in America plan will probably deliver Pennsylvania to him, and the combination of Ohio and Pennsylvania is formulaic for a Republican win. To this combination, Santorum could also add Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and even Minnesota.

Santorum's Made in America plan is a recipe for success in every way.