First Things First

Two Issues Washington Can Tackle: Infrastructure and Workforce Shortage

On Tuesday, President Trump sketched out his policy focus for 2020 in his State of the Union address.

From his speech and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Democratic response, there are areas of common ground that can be achieved on issues important to businesses.

One is infrastructure. “We must also rebuild America’s infrastructure,” President Trump said to applause. “Everyone in this country benefits when we invest in infrastructure,” stated Gov. Whitmer in her response.

The pieces are in place to pass an infrastructure bill this year. There’s bipartisan support in the House and President Trump urged passage of a Senate bill.

Another critical issue that must be addressed on a bipartisan basis is our workforce shortage. The economy continues to create jobs, but at the same time, businesses of all sizes are desperately in search of workers.

The Trump administration, through the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board, has been doing productive work encouraging the private sector and educational institutions to work together to shrink the skills gap.

At the same time, we must address the fact that legal immigration into the U.S. has declined by 7% in the last two years. In order for our economy to continue to grow, we need workers to get the job done. "Ultimately it's something we will need to reverse,” said U.S. Chamber Executive Vice President and Chief Policy Officer Neil Bradley.

There’s potential for bipartisan cooperation on both these issues – even in an election year. "Businesses simply can't sit around and wait for odd-numbered years to take action, and we expect the same thing from our elected leaders,” said Bradley.

Diving In

Protecting intellectual property is not anything new. In the early 20^th Century music piracy was rampant, but IP’s defenders fought back. One is highlighted in this Wall Street Journal book review:

At the turn of the last century, when recorded sound was limited to wax cylinders, songwriters made money with the sale of sheet music. The public sang popular tunes in their own parlors, accompanying themselves on their own pianos. Publishers sold them the printed music they needed to keep up with the new songs “plugged” by performers in music stores and vaudeville shows. Today a music pirate is someone who illegally copies audio files; at the beginning of the 20th century, it was someone who printed words and music on paper.

One such pirate was Garrett Couchois. His copies were so good that only the publishers could tell the difference between their products and his fakes. And he was used to operating with little interference from the law.

Come the summer of 1905, though, Couchois was being arrested every week. His lawyer was so outraged that, in the courtroom, he sputtered to the judge: “How much money have these complainants paid you to look out for their interests?” Couchois kept getting arrested. A Sept. 3, 1905, headline stated: “Couchois in Trouble Again.” This time he stood accused of selling 4,000 illegitimate copies of a sacred song, “The Holy City.”

These arrests were the doing, ultimately, of Nathan Burkan, a young Broadway lawyer who, through shrewd litigation and far-sighted institution building, transformed the business of music in America.

Have a business-related long read you want to share? Please email me.

Caught My Eye

Protecting Intellectual Property fosters innovation and growth. The Global Innovation Policy Center released its latest International IP Index.

Found a chart you want to share? Please email me.

The Big Picture

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta spoke at the U.S. Chamber on the pursuit of a comprehensive, high-standard trade agreement with Kenya. Watch portions of the event here.

Looking Ahead

February 28, 2020: The U.S. Chamber Foundation will host the Early Education Summit: Economic Impact on the States. It gathers early education and business communities together to discuss the impact of how childcare challenges affect a state’s workforce participation and economy.

March 5, 2020: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's annual Aviation Summit will bring together a lineup of well-respected leaders in aviation to discuss the many challenges and opportunities facing the aviation industry, including rich conversations on international flight, advancements in aviation technology, and opportunities and challenges facing the field.

March 16, 2020: The U.S. Chamber will host the Transatlantic Business Works Summit, highlighting the benefits of the world's largest bilateral trade and investment relationship. The event attracts policymakers, thought leaders, business executives from the U.S. and Europe.

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