AC Week in review: June 29, 2014

I knew this would be a slow week for me because of the election, so I only had a couple posts for American Certified this week. But they were important because they were on a subject near and dear to manufacturers’ hearts – financing.

First, though, I want to point out something my AC colleague Ed Braxton put together on high tax rates and how they affect us on a global scale. Ed points out that many of our competitors across the globe have relented on corporate taxation, a practice which encourages multinational corporations to park their profits elsewhere.

As I promised a week ago, my two-part series on the Ex-Im Bank’s fate was put up over the last week. I decided to devote part one to what its proponents have to say, with the opponents’ case discussed in part two. Personally, I’m not convinced that we need to reauthorize the institution, particularly in an era where government is already trying to get its tentacles into myriad areas of financing.

One product already made in America, and probably getting its financing from private sources, is the Clif bar. These energy bars got a glowing review from my AC cohort George Pitsakis in his latest piece. However, I have one bone to pick with George – he notes how the company has gone green but I’m wondering how much was on their own and how much incentive was dangled in front of them. If they can make a superior American-made product in a competitive marketplace, though, more power to them.

I’ve already put a couple items in the pipeline for next week and will work on more in the next few days.