By James B. Kelleher - Analysis
CHICAGO (Reuters) - They're all Keynesians for now.
Faced with an economy reeling from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, executives at the Reuters Manufacturing Summit in Chicago this week largely backed the deficit spending spree lately embarked upon by the U.S. government.
It is an interventionist approach that owes much to John Maynard Keynes, the liberal economist who is not often championed in corporate boardrooms -- a domain more normally ruled by conservative "hands-off" economic ideas.
But these are not normal times, which might also explain why some of the language used by executives at the summit would not have sounded out of place in a speech by President Barack Obama.
"Do nothing is not an option," Bill Zollars, the head of trucking giant YRC Worldwide (YRCW.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), told the summit on Tuesday, echoing a line Obama used in Elkhart, Indiana, this month during a tour to build support for his stimulus plan.
"You can get in and talk about specific pieces of what has been done and probably disagree," Zollars said, "as I do with some of the stuff. But at the end of the day we are in the ditch."
Ed Campbell, the head of Nordson (NDSN.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which makes equipment that dispenses adhesives, sealants and coatings, agreed.
"I think governments need to step up and frankly do things," Campbell told the summit.
"And I have been a bit disappointed by the extent to which a lot of this has been politicized ... This is stuff we need to be doing anyway. And what better time to be doing it?"
EMULATING CHINA
Ron DeFeo, the head of heavy equipment maker Terex (TEX.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), went so far as to hold up China -- still ruled by an authoritarian government even after 30 years of market reforms -- as a role model in some ways for the United States.
"In this country, government and business tend to be adversaries, as opposed to China, where government and businesses are locked together in a common purpose to employ people, to create wealth," DeFeo said. He advocated what he characterized as a more "planful" relationship between the private and public sector.
"And we have forgotten that when we work together, we create wealth," DeFeo said. "When we are adversaries, nothing happens."
The unexpected did not stop there. Dan Ustian, the head of truckmaker Navistar International (NAV.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), even voiced reassuring words about the Employee Free Choice Act. The bill, strongly opposed by the business community and organizations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, would make it easier for unions to organize workers.
Organized labor is pushing hard to have the legislation passed by the current Congress. Continued...
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| India Investment | Nov 23 - 25, 2009 | Country Summits |
| Global Finance | Nov 16 - 19, 2009 | Financial Services / Exchanges |
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| Middle East Investment | Oct 26 - 28, 2009 | Country Summits |
