Congressman Don Sherwood, R-10, and the owners of a local manufacturing plant teamed up Thursday to explain how President George W. Bush's economic policies have helped business owners.
 

Release Date: 8/13/2004


Sherwood paid a visit to Diamond Manufacturing in Wyoming, a metal perforation plant owned by brothers Hal and Rusty Flack, for a tour of the works and a talk on economics.

 

"The economy went south in 2000, then people woke up that it was happening in 2001," Sherwood began. "Then we had a terrorist attack that made it worse, then we had some corporate scandals, and then after that, we had to go after the terrorists. Our troops have been in Iraq and around the world, and in Afghanistan. This economy has had about all the shocks you could expect."

Sherwood said the Bush administration has done several things to help it bounce back, particularly low interest rates and tax cuts.
"Six million Pennsylvanians have had their income tax reduced as a result of President Bush's policies," Sherwood said. "Think about that. There's only 13 million people in Pennsylvania, so almost half of us have had our taxes reduced, and when you think about how many kids there are, and retired people who don't pay taxes, that's pretty substantial."

There are also 1.1 million Pennsylvania families who have benefited from the child tax credit, and 1.5 million helped by the lowering of the marriage penalty, he said.
In addition, more than 900,000 small business taxpayers had money to reinvest - and, therefore, create jobs - because of Bush's policies, Sherwood said.

Association health plans and efforts on malpractice reforms will help with health care costs, Sherwood said, noting that in order for businesses to stay competitive, costs must be kept in line.

Rusty Flack backed up Sherwood's claims.
"I believe the economic policies of this president have worked. They have put money in the hands of consumers through tax cuts," he said.

If people used their tax breaks to buy Maytag washing machines, Honda vehicles, Dell computers, or Peterbilt trucks - all products Diamond makes perforated metal components for - they helped put people in Wyoming to work, Flack said.

Sherwood said Pennsylvania currently has a lower unemployment rate (5.6 percent) than it has for the average of any of the last three decades.
"I've been in business in Pennsylvania all my life ... and that's a low rate," Sherwood said. The congressman said that 20,000 jobs were created in the state last month.
"But the president won't be happy until every American that wants a job has a job."

Diamond has been growing over the last few years, Flack pointed out. Payroll increased from 87 employees in 2002 to 114 in August 2004.
The average pay rate is about $15 to a high of $18 per hour, with a benefit package that adds another 26 percent. Flack stressed that jobs at Diamond have a future and growth potential.

Further, Diamond uses local subcontractors - such as Pulverman Enterprises in Dallas and Kingston Metals in Luzerne - for finishing work, adding at least 50 more jobs, Flack said.
"All in all, it's about $3.2 million in new payroll in the past two years," he said.

The products are exported not only around the U.S., but also to foreign countries such as China, Indonesia and Pakistan, according to Flack. That has led to the ability to invest $5.3 million in new capital in the business
since 2001.

"We see continued growth as long as we have pro-growth policies from Washington," Flack stated.
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry "has a record of higher taxes and policies that dampen business activity and the jobs that follow private sector investment," Flack said.

The country was built on small businesses, and Flack said Bush is a president who believes in entrepreneurs and risk-takers, and that small businesses drive the economy.
"As you can see, I'm pretty optimistic on the economy," Sherwood concluded. "I think the policies President Bush has put forward have lifted us out of this, and we're on the right road and the right track in the country."