Miller talks jobs

The Editorial Board of Reidsville Review
Published: March 25, 2008

Jobs. Immigration. The U.S. economy.
Tough issues, to be sure.
U.S. Rep. Brad Miller, a N.C. Democrat, visited The Reidsville Review on Thursday before touring a Reidsville business, Liquip International. The company makes equipment used in aircraft refueling. Liquip, formerly Beta Fluid Systems, is growing, expanding from 30 to 127 workers in the past 18 months.
News of a company expanding in Rockingham County is good — but rare — news. The remaining textile manufacturers are teetering, and the tobacco industry — with a few exceptions, such as the General Tobacco plant in Mayodan — is all but gone in Rockingham County.
Miller, who represents the state’s 13th Congressional District, knows this, of course. The aforementioned three issues raise a lot of questions — many more than can be answered in 75 or 80 minutes. Consequently, no time was left Thursday to discuss the war in Iraq or the upcoming presidential election.
Still, Miller was forthcoming and honest, saying that, yes, we’re in a recession. He said Congress has been slow to act on immigration because lawmakers are unwilling to compromise. Miller called it one of the most “frustrating issues to deal with.”
“It’s a hard problem to solve,” he said, because everyone involved in the political debate insists on satisfying all of the items on his or her checklist. Congress appeared to be making progress on the issue last year before the issue fell victim to political agendas and partisan politics.
No solution is imminent.
Regarding the economy, Miller said the U.S. in the long term must work to create a highly skilled workforce and an economy that’s “quick on its feet, is innovative and creates value.” The North American Free Trade Agreement delivered a stinging blow to the county, and, as Miller conceded, Rockingham County has struggled with the transition. The manufacturing jobs aren’t coming back.
Miller, whose seat is up for election again this year, envisions an America in which people leave high school and community colleges with the “knowledge to make it possible for them to learn throughout their lifetimes.” After all, he said, “The economy is going to continue to change.”
The question is, will the new president and the revamped Congress have the fortitude and wherewithal to propose and back legislation that will lead us into the “new economy,” or are we simply awaiting a replay of the previous several years? Congress, remember, experienced an overhaul after the 2006 election, and it has been ineffective since. Will the 2008 election mark the beginnings of change and hope, or will it bring with it more of the same partisan infighting and impotent leadership?
Time will tell.