Sand in the Gears

Summary

American manufacturing has been on the decline for at least two generations; that fact is plain to any observer who travels through the Rust Belt of the Midwest, where the closing of steel plants and automobile factories has created ghost towns that dot the landscape. It is also clear in the dormant New England textile mills, whose owners surrendered their production...

Excerpts

On Manufacturing’s Decline: “While social upheaval and foreign policy distractions in the 1960s augured change in the American condition, the early 1970s put a stop to the steady upward movement of the manufacturing sector. The stagflation economy (high inflation and low growth) took a bullet with the 1973 Arab oil embargo, and while our country certainly...

About the Author

Andrew O. Smith is a career manufacturing executive with a long-standing interest in economic policy. He took his first regular job at a shoe factory in 1982 and spent the early part of his career as a strategy consultant for Booz · Allen & Hamilton. As Chief Operating Officer of Yenkin-Majestic Paint Corporation, Mr. Smith has first-hand experience in running a...

Endorsements

“Sand in the Gears provides a thought-provoking perspective of how our government policies impact manufacturing in America. Andrew O. Smith clearly explains the public policy challenges facing manufacturers—and how these challenges have held back manufacturing job growth over the past few decades. This book underscores the critical need for policies that will help...

Blog

Welcome to the Blog for Sand in the Gears, where you will find comments on topics of interest to the manufacturing world.

How Public Policy Has Crippled American Manufacturing