As promised, July's focus here is on red tape and its costs and effects. This week is the kick-off! Your host Jim Vinoski discusses the extensive impact of red tape regulations on American manufacturing and energy sectors. He highlights the staggering growth of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), which expanded from 130,800 pages in 2000 to over 190,000 pages by 2023. Studies by Mark and Nicole Crain reveal that federal regulations cost the U.S. economy over $3 trillion, with an average annual compliance cost of $277,000 per firm. Manufacturing firms, particularly small ones, bear a significant burden, with costs per employee ranging from $14,700 to $50,100. Jim emphasizes the need for regulatory reform to support reindustrialization and energy production. In this short clip, Jim points out the very real and enormous costs of our permitting crisis, where activists can tie up mines and factories for a decade or more. See the whole episode here: https://youtu.be/x3DMPWJSOto

As promised, July's focus here is on red tape and its costs and effects. This week is the kick-off! Your host Jim Vinoski discusses the extensive impact of red tape regulations on American manufacturing and energy sectors. He highlights the staggering growth of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), which expanded from 130,800 pages in 2000 to over 190,000 pages by 2023. Studies by Mark and Nicole Crain reveal that federal regulations cost the U.S. economy over $3 trillion, with an average annual compliance cost of $277,000 per firm. Manufacturing firms, particularly small ones, bear a significant burden, with costs per employee ranging from $14,700 to $50,100. Jim emphasizes the need for regulatory reform to support reindustrialization and energy production. In this short clip, Jim talks about the need for nuclear power and its emissions-free energy - but how we're stymying it by piling on the red tape. See the whole episode here: https://youtu.be/x3DMPWJSOto

As promised, July's focus here is on red tape and its costs and effects. This week is the kick-off! Your host Jim Vinoski discusses the extensive impact of red tape regulations on American manufacturing and energy sectors. He highlights the staggering growth of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), which expanded from 130,800 pages in 2000 to over 190,000 pages by 2023. Studies by Mark and Nicole Crain reveal that federal regulations cost the U.S. economy over $3 trillion, with an average annual compliance cost of $277,000 per firm. Manufacturing firms, particularly small ones, bear a significant burden, with costs per employee ranging from $14,700 to $50,100. Jim emphasizes the need for regulatory reform to support reindustrialization and energy production. In this short clip, Jim discusses the effects of hyper-regulation on our energy production, and what that means for manufacturing and our reindustrialization efforts. See the whole episode here: https://youtu.be/x3DMPWJSOto

As promised, July's focus here is on red tape and its costs and effects. This week is the kick-off! Your host Jim Vinoski discusses the extensive impact of red tape regulations on American manufacturing and energy sectors. He highlights the staggering growth of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), which expanded from 130,800 pages in 2000 to over 190,000 pages by 2023. Studies by Mark and Nicole Crain reveal that federal regulations cost the U.S. economy over $3 trillion, with an average annual compliance cost of $277,000 per firm. Manufacturing firms, particularly small ones, bear a significant burden, with costs per employee ranging from $14,700 to $50,100. Jim emphasizes the need for regulatory reform to support reindustrialization and energy production. In this short clip, he explains how EVERY regulation MUST be viewed as a burden on our producers, because that's exactly what it is - and thoroughly analyzed for cost vs. benefit. See the whole episode here: https://youtu.be/x3DMPWJSOto

As promised, July's focus here is on red tape and its costs and effects. This week is the kick-off! Your host Jim Vinoski discusses the extensive impact of red tape regulations on American manufacturing and energy sectors. He highlights the staggering growth of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), which expanded from 130,800 pages in 2000 to over 190,000 pages by 2023. Studies by Mark and Nicole Crain reveal that federal regulations cost the U.S. economy over $3 trillion, with an average annual compliance cost of $277,000 per firm. Manufacturing firms, particularly small ones, bear a significant burden, with costs per employee ranging from $14,700 to $50,100. Jim emphasizes the need for regulatory reform to support reindustrialization and energy production. In this short clip, he discusses how regulations were a huge part of why we lost whole swaths of our industries in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. See the whole episode here: https://youtu.be/x3DMPWJSOto

Regulations have gotten so bad we mostly don't even talk about them anymore. That's a huge problem, because red tape is the number 1 thing that can derail our reindustrialization efforts, our nuclear resurgence, and our energy independence. Your host Jim Vinoski tackles the problem head-on, discussing the extensive impact of red tape regulations on American manufacturing and energy sectors. He highlights the staggering growth of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), which expanded from 130,800 pages in 2000 to over 190,000 pages by 2023. Studies by Mark and Nicole Crain for the National Association of Manufacturers reveal that federal regulations cost the U.S. economy over $3 trillion, with an average annual compliance cost of $277,000 per firm. Manufacturing firms, particularly small ones, bear a significant burden, with costs per employee ranging from $24,800 to $50,100. Jim concludes by emphasizing the need for radical regulatory reform to support reindustrialization and energy production. Links: The Pacific Legal Foundation's page on the Code of Federal Regulations: https://pacificlegal.org/the-cfr-a-190000-page-monument-to-executive-overreach/ NAM's summary on the cost of regulations: https://nam.org/issues/regulatory-and-legal-reform/ The full NAM report by Nicole and Mark Crain: https://nam.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/NAM-3731-Crains-Study-R3-V2-FIN.pdf The American Action Forum's report on nuclear regulatory costs: https://www.americanactionforum.org/research/putting-nuclear-regulatory-costs-context/ Jim Vinoski's recent Substack on the total cost of regulations in industry: https://manufacturingtalks.substack.com/p/the-unseen-costs-of-regulations

Here's a superb example of a public-private partnership to help with our desperate need for more skilled trades gurus. Jim Vinoski interviews Jason Wells from the Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing (ATDM) program, which trains the U.S. defense industrial base workforce. The program, based in Danville, Virginia, focuses on skilled trades like machining, welding, and quality assurance, integrating technology to stay relevant. It has graduated nearly 2,000 students in five years, with a current annual graduation target of 1,000. The program's success is attributed to local, state, and federal funding and collaboration with industry. The initiative highlights the importance of a proactive approach to workforce development and the need for a national perspective on the skills gap. In this short clip, Jason discusses how manufacturing has a long history of being an American superpower, and how we can't afford to let the hands-on knowledge that drives it slip away. See the whole show here: https://youtu.be/S0c6CYkIgSM

Here's a superb example of a public-private partnership to help with our desperate need for more skilled trades gurus. Jim Vinoski interviews Jason Wells from the Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing (ATDM) program, which trains the U.S. defense industrial base workforce. The program, based in Danville, Virginia, focuses on skilled trades like machining, welding, and quality assurance, integrating technology to stay relevant. It has graduated nearly 2,000 students in five years, with a current annual graduation target of 1,000. The program's success is attributed to local, state, and federal funding and collaboration with industry. The initiative highlights the importance of a proactive approach to workforce development and the need for a national perspective on the skills gap. In this short clip, Jason explains how the ATDM is focused on a national footprint to allow the workers it trains to readily flow to the areas of the country where they're most needed. See the whole show here: https://youtu.be/S0c6CYkIgSM

Here's a superb example of a public-private partnership to help with our desperate need for more skilled trades gurus. Jim Vinoski interviews Jason Wells from the Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing (ATDM) program, which trains the U.S. defense industrial base workforce. The program, based in Danville, Virginia, focuses on skilled trades like machining, welding, and quality assurance, integrating technology to stay relevant. It has graduated nearly 2,000 students in five years, with a current annual graduation target of 1,000. The program's success is attributed to local, state, and federal funding and collaboration with industry. The initiative highlights the importance of a proactive approach to workforce development and the need for a national perspective on the skills gap. In this short clip, Jason dives into how their programs help build the workforce for a vital industry in their area of Virginia, and one crucial to rebuilding our Navy: shipbuilding. See the whole show here: https://youtu.be/S0c6CYkIgSM

Here's a superb example of a public-private partnership to help with our desperate need for more skilled trades gurus. Jim Vinoski interviews Jason Wells from the Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing (ATDM) program, which trains the U.S. defense industrial base workforce. The program, based in Danville, Virginia, focuses on skilled trades like machining, welding, and quality assurance, integrating technology to stay relevant. It has graduated nearly 2,000 students in five years, with a current annual graduation target of 1,000. The program's success is attributed to local, state, and federal funding and collaboration with industry. The initiative highlights the importance of a proactive approach to workforce development and the need for a national perspective on the skills gap. In this short clip, Jason discusses the desperate need for us to "move fast and break things" as we work to rebuild the skilled trades talent pipeline. See the whole show here: https://youtu.be/S0c6CYkIgSM

Here's a superb example of a public-private partnership to help with our desperate need for more skilled trades gurus. Jim Vinoski interviews Jason Wells from the Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing (ATDM) program, which trains the U.S. defense industrial base workforce. The program, based in Danville, Virginia, focuses on skilled trades like machining, welding, and quality assurance, integrating technology to stay relevant. It has graduated nearly 2,000 students in five years, with a current annual graduation target of 1,000. The program's success is attributed to local, state, and federal funding and collaboration with industry. The initiative highlights the importance of a proactive approach to workforce development and the need for a national perspective on the skills gap. In this short clip, Jason explains how his outfit's trades training objectives were driven by the needs of the people left high and dry by the last wave of American deindustrialization. See the whole show here: https://youtu.be/S0c6CYkIgSM

Here's a superb example of a public-private partnership to help with our desperate need for more skilled trades gurus. Jim Vinoski interviews Jason Wells from the Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing (ATDM) program, which trains the U.S. defense industrial base workforce. The program, based in Danville, Virginia, focuses on skilled trades like machining, welding, and quality assurance, integrating technology to stay relevant. It has graduated nearly 2,000 students in five years, with a current annual graduation target of 1,000. The program's success is attributed to local, state, and federal funding and collaboration with industry. The initiative highlights the importance of a proactive approach to workforce development and the need for a national perspective on the skills gap. In this short clip, Jason talks about the way his organization and community went about investing in its skilled trades workforce training and development. See the whole show here: https://youtu.be/S0c6CYkIgSM

Here's a superb example of a public-private partnership to help with our desperate need for more skilled trades gurus. Jim Vinoski interviews Jason Wells from the Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing (ATDM) program, which trains the U.S. defense industrial base workforce. The program, based in Danville, Virginia, focuses on skilled trades like machining, welding, and quality assurance, integrating technology to stay relevant. It has graduated nearly 2,000 students in five years, with a current annual graduation target of 1,000. The program's success is attributed to local, state, and federal funding and collaboration with industry. The initiative highlights the importance of a proactive approach to workforce development and the need for a national perspective on the skills gap. In this short clip, Jason explains the very real multiplier effect that building a domestic manufacturing supply chain has on the economy. See the whole show here: https://youtu.be/S0c6CYkIgSM

Here's a superb example of a public-private partnership to help with our desperate need for more skilled trades gurus. Jim Vinoski interviews Jason Wells from the Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing (ATDM) program, which trains the U.S. defense industrial base workforce. The program, based in Danville, Virginia, focuses on skilled trades like machining, welding, and quality assurance, integrating technology to stay relevant. It has graduated nearly 2,000 students in five years, with a current annual graduation target of 1,000. The program's success is attributed to local, state, and federal funding and collaboration with industry. The initiative highlights the importance of a proactive approach to workforce development and the need for a national perspective on the skills gap. Highlights: 00.00 - Introduction and Overview of ATDM 02:05 - Economic Transformation and Workforce Development 07:07 - Balancing Immediate Needs with Long-Term Vision 14:53 - National Recognition and Federal Programs 19:53 - Challenges and Adaptations in Training 24:21 - Impact and Future of ATDM 32:04 - Government Support and Industry Collaboration 35:10 - Addressing the Skills Gap and Future Outlook 41:02 - Closing Thoughts and Final Remarks The ATDM is just a phenomenal example of what needs to be happening much, much more broadly to turn the tide on our dearth of skilled trades workers. ATDM website: https://atdm.org/

It was a pleasure to be joined once again by Samuel Gregg, who is President of the American Institute for Economic Research, and joined us to discuss a recent article of his that's right up our alley. Sam and our host Jim Vinoski did a deep dive into his article, "Dear Conservatives: Industrial Policy is a Dead End," which critiques the British and American approaches to industrial policy. He argues that government intervention in the economy, as seen in China and Japan, often leads to misallocation of resources, cronyism, and economic stagnation. Sam emphasizes the importance of market-driven outcomes over government-engineered results. He also highlights the inefficiencies of public sector investments and the need for less regulation to foster innovation and competitiveness. He advocates for a return to the principles of economic liberty and the American founding. In this short clip, Sam points out an obvious example of American industrial policy failure: our car industry, where American carmakers in Detroit struggle despite bailouts and favorable treatment while foreign automakers with plant down south do far, far better. See the whole show here: https://youtu.be/LcqDKZI8Lxk