July-August 2014
| BusinessWorld | 143
I
n 1895, the United States was in the midst of the worst recession the country
had experienced. Amid that economic turmoil, a group of business leaders
gathered to found the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). They
understood, as manufacturers do today, that our industry powers an economy.
The NAM is more than 12,000 members strong and represents manufactur-
ers of all sizes and sectors, from the world’s largest multinationals to family busi-
nesses up and down Main streets all across America.
We are the voice of 12 million men and women who make things in America
and we have never wavered from our mission of creating opportunities for Amer-
icans, and advancing not only the standard of living of people in our country, but
people throughout the world.
Today, manufacturers, like they did more than a century ago, face a number
of challenges, many of them the result of actions coming out of Washington.
Whether through inaction or by enacting policies making it harder to do busi-
ness, Washington continues to erect impediments to manufacturing competitive-
ness.
