California Congressman Mike Honda Discusses American Manufacturing

Estimated reading time: 17 minutes

Norman Mineta was secretary of Transportation, and in his proposal every year he would tweak it and increase the number of cents that we needed to gather for the trust fund, but it would always get pulled out. So it’s not through lack of effort by some, but a very cautious effort of cutting these funds. I just don’t understand it and I wish people would get more upset. Like when the bridge fell in Minnesota; we fixed it in three months. Why do we have to wait for something to fall?

Matties: You know if I were to run for political office, and I have no desire to do so, I would be making a strong case that what the government should be doing is really focusing on how we create an environment so our businesses can thrive through great infrastructure. And you’ve keyed in on some of it—STEM for example—that’s all part of the infrastructure equation. If we can build an incredible environment that supports our businesses, we have an amazing workforce in America that can be a dominant force.

Honda: But it is business that is sometimes responsible for slowing it all down until they can control it. Because when digital came into our lives and we had cell phones, we talked about global harmonization. Remember that phrase? And yet we can’t do that because all the companies, here at least, will sell you a phone with a SIM card in it that limits you to a certain area. So when you go overseas you have to take your SIM card out. In Asia, you can buy a phone and gain access to anywhere. Their benefit is they don’t have to go through the costs of building infrastructure in the digital world. Here we had an investment in wires and cables, telephone poles, undergrounding, and all the stuff we put into the system. I think the way we see things is still old-fashioned and people don’t want to change because I think they feel they will lose money.

Matties: You’re in a unique district for sure, District 17, in the heart of Silicon Valley. What do you do to help modernize the thinking? How can you create change?Page 4 of 7

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