On May 24th, the Coalition for a Prosperous America released a new working paper, “Job Quality Index for Black, Hispanic and Asian American workers. In this working paper, Jeff Ferry, CPA Chief Economist, and Amanda Mayoral, CPA Economist, present Job Quality Indexes for three important minority groups within the U.S. workforce: Asian, Black, and Hispanic Americans.
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South Carolina Inventors Forum Founder Devoted to Helping Inventors
by Michele Nash-HoffWhen my first book, Can American Manufacturing Be Saved? Why We Should and How We can was published in May 2009, I introduced it as a speaker at the Del Mar Electronics & Design Show in San Diego, CA and displayed it at my company’s booth. One of the persons who stopped by and bought my book was Adrian Pelkus, President of A Squared Technologies, Inc. and leader of a group called the San Diego Inventors Forum. Adrian invited me to the next meeting of the group and I accepted his invitation. Since June 2009, I have regularly attended SDIF meetings and became a board member when it was formally incorporated in 2014. Our meetings provide information that helps inventors take a product from design concept, fundraising, producing, and successfully marketing the product. I give an annual presentation titled “How to Select the Right Processes and Sources for Your Product” and we hold an annual inventors contest with cash prizes. We haven’t held in-person meetings since the COVID pandemic shutdown started in March 2020, but will start meeting again this fall.
Read moreU S.Inventors Continue Fight to Restore Patent Rights
by Michele Nash-HoffSeptember 16, 2021 marks the 10th anniversary of the America Invents Act (AIA) at the Decade of Stolen Dreams Inventor Rally organized by US Inventor, Inc., a non-profit association of inventors devoted to protecting the intellectual property of individuals and small companies. It represents its 13,000 inventor and small business members by promoting strong intellectual property rights and a predictable U.S. patent system through education, advocacy and reform.
Read moreUSITC Report Reveals Only Small Positive Effect from Trade Agreements
by Michele Nash-HoffOn June 29, 2021, the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) released a report on the economic impact of the many bilateral, regional, and multilateral trade agreements that the U.S has signed since 1984. These include NAFTA, that went into effect in 1994, the multilateral trade deal that created the World Trade Organization in 1995, as well as bilateral trade agreements such as KORUS (Korea-U. S). It also examined the one-year-old U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement, which replaced the original NAFTA. However, it did not examine the effects of the agreement struck by the United States to pave the way for China to enter the WTO in 2001.
Read moreSales Factor Tax Apportionment is Better than G-7 Proposal
by Michele Nash-HoffFor many years, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has been coordinating talks among 140 countries on cross-border tax reform in order to get multi-national corporations to pay their fair share of taxes. Currently, multinational corporations that have subsidiaries or divisions in other countries use legal accounting strategies to reduce their taxes by transferring profits to lower corporate tax rate countries or set up shell corporations in tax haven countries. It’s not fair for multinational firms to sell products in the U.S. market and then pay little or no federal taxes on the resulting profits. Domestic companies bear the brunt of our country’s tax burden, making it more difficult for them to compete in the global marketplace.
Read moreAsian, Black, and Hispanic Americans Suffer from Loss of High Paying Manufacturing Jobs
by Michele Nash-HoffOn May 24th, the Coalition for a Prosperous America released a new working paper, “Job Quality Index for Black, Hispanic and Asian American workers. In this working paper, Jeff Ferry, CPA Chief Economist, and Amanda Mayoral, CPA Economist, present Job Quality Indexes for three important minority groups within the U.S. workforce: Asian, Black, and Hispanic Americans.
Read moreMobile Maker Spaces Help Entrepreneurs Grow New Manufacturing Businesses
by Michele Nash-HoffMakerspaces are a good idea for any community that wants to accelerate the development of manufacturing businesses in their region. According to Makerspaces.com, a Makerspace “is a collaborative work space inside a school, library or separate public/private facility for making, learning, exploring and sharing that uses high tech to no tech tools. These spaces are open to kids, adults, and entrepreneurs and have a variety of maker equipment including 3D printers, laser cutters, CNC machines, soldering irons and even sewing machines.”
Read moreHow Technology & Currency Policy Contribute to ‘Build Back Better’
by Michele Nash-HoffThe panels on the third day (March 25th) of the virtual CPA conference highlighted how the technology industry contributes to national security and the economy as well as how a currency policy would contribute to President Biden’s “Build Back Better” industrial strategy.
Read moreSecond Day of CPA Conference Focuses on Tax Reform
by Michele Nash-HoffThe second day of the CPA virtual conference held March 23-27th featured two panels:
In the first panel, the focus was on whether or not additional tax reform is needed by Congress to make sure that tax loopholes that currently favor multinational corporations over domestic companies will be closed.
Read moreCPA Annual Trade Conference was a Virtual Success
by Michele Nash-HoffThe Coalition for a Prosperous America held its annual trade conference virtually for the first time on March 23 – 26, 2021. I had the pleasure of attending the annual trade conference in person six years in a row when it was held in Washington, D. C., but last year’s conference had to be canceled on short notice because of COVID shutdowns. This year’s virtual conference was free to all CPA members and the program ran from 11 AM – 4 PM ET each day. The conference was a huge success because of the valuable content of the sessions, lack of technical glitches, and Melissa Tallman’s hard work.
Read moreAre Americans Losing the American Dream
by Michele Nash-HoffOne definition of the “American Dream” is “The belief that anyone, regardless of where they were born or what class they were born into, can attain their own version of success in a society in which upward mobility is possible for everyone. The American dream is believed to be achieved through sacrifice, risk-taking, and hard work, rather than by chance.” Wikipedia states, “The American Dream is rooted in the Declaration of Independence, which proclaims that “all men are created equal” with the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The question is: Are we losing the “American Dream.?”
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