RYAN & WOLF: We're moderate capitalists and our presidential pick is simple

The nation just heard competing economic speeches from Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, both with a focus on manufacturing. This is not a surprise as we believe that whoever has the better plan for the rebuilding and revitalizing of industrial America will win the election.  

Of course, we are big supporters of the Harris-Walz campaign, but we write this as two clear-eyed moderates and capitalists who know the stakes in this election. And, we believe Harris has a significantly more persuasive and credible argument to make to the American people.  

Why is that? Because the Biden-Harris administration’s bold, and mostly bipartisan legislative victories, have stemmed the tide of 40 years of deindustrialization. Their administration has added nearly 800,000 manufacturing jobs and is rebuilding America’s rotting infrastructure with over $1 trillion of investment in the modernization of our roads, bridges, broadband and ports. There is no better investment of America’s hard-earned tax dollars than public infrastructure.  

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We both publicly applauded and supported the Biden-Harris bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act as well as the CHIPS and Science Act, and view them as two of the most consequential legislative accomplishments in our lifetime.  

Vice President Kamala Harris, during an economic address in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, takes aim at former President Trump. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

These acts have overwhelming broad-based support from unions, small and large business, Republicans, Democrats and independents (and co-author and former Rep. Ryan voted for both). And this is quite a contrast to Trump’s failures. He talked about infrastructure week continually throughout his term but never even put up a bill (and still talking about it now).  

Not only does a rebuilding America plan resonate strongly with the American people, but the American Society of Civil Engineers also gave America's infrastructure a grade of D+ in 2017 when Trump took office and a C- when he left, which was almost zero progress.  

Currently, U.S. infrastructure investment spending is under 5% of GDP annually, which is at the low end versus other countries; with over a $1 trillion funding shortfall over the next five years with an ever-increasing deficit as we maintain, upgrade or modernize structures and systems. Infrastructure investment remains one of the best ways to bolster our economy!  

A "Modeling the Impact of Public Infrastructure" study in 2023 found two major impacts on the GDP: short term (during construction phase) and long term (both directly and indirectly which can translate into consumer spending). These investments also have a huge multiplier effect because the new, high-paying jobs pay, on average, over 20% higher than the median income nationally. 

So, while Trump has been doing the talking, Biden-Harris has been doing the walking. Since August 2024, approximately $564 billion has been deployed for 56,000 projects in 4,500 communities in all 50 states and territories. The initial investment is being deployed. Now it is time to double down. 

The yin to infrastructure’s yang is manufacturing. In the first quarter of 2024, the White House published the Future Made in America fact sheet showing incredible momentum: 

• The private sector has committed nearly $900 billion in investments in American manufacturing and power sectors.
• Construction of factories has doubled to a record high after falling under the Trump administration.

Biden-Harris helped deliver 800,000 manufacturing jobs. Here, Vice President Kamala Harris's running mate Gov. Tim Walz speaks at LaborFest. (Fox News)

• Skills training with the proliferation of "workforce hubs" has begun.

During the Trump years, manufacturing got torched with a net loss of 75,000 manufacturing jobs versus hundreds of thousands of gains under Biden-Harris. It is worth noting that the Alliance for American Manufacturing (a non-partisan nonprofit) attributes Trump’s decline mainly to erratic trade policies that he enacted, not the pandemic.  

The king of chaos’ policies were anti-business and anti-worker. And if you listened to the former president’s speech in Georgia, you will understand why. He randomly pitched onerous across-the-board tariffs and old world, protectionist-style ideas targeted primarily at an iconic American company, John Deere.  

This led to the Wall Street Journal editorial board writing that, "A Deere in Trump’s Political Headlights" stating that "Mr. Trump thinks he can bully Deere as he did Carrier … Meantime, his threats help Democrats argue that Ms. Harris would be friendlier to business."  

Harris is friendlier to business. In her recent speech in Pittsburgh, she said one of her pillars for her "opportunity economy" was "leading the world in the industries of the future." Her goal is to out compete China with smart, pragmatic public investments and policies, all while working with business to strengthen our economic, national and energy security.  

These kinds of capital-intensive projects in artificial intelligence and clean energy take time to build, which is why we are seeing a construction employment boom. Manufacturing jobs are coming back, and because of these policies huge growth is on the way. Look at what’s already happening: 

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• In Arizona, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited is building new leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing facilities.
• In Georgia, Qcells is expanding its solar panel and component manufacturing capacity; and Hyundai has broken ground on an EV and battery manufacturing facility.

Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was criticized by the Wall Street Journal for his protectionist-style ideas targeted primarily at John Deere. (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

• In North Carolina, Wolf Speed (no relation) is investing in a semiconductor materials plant; and CommScope and Corning are investing in building American-made fiber-optic cables.
• In Wisconsin, Microsoft is building a data center (on the same site that Trump was supposed to have the infamous Foxconn plant.

These successes are even winning over Republicans. Recently, a large group of House Republicans wrote a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson asking him not to repeal the IRA clean energy tax credits because they were creating jobs and factories in their districts. The administration needs to brag about this bipartisan support for their plan and build on it.  

During the Trump years, manufacturing got torched with a net loss of 75,000 manufacturing jobs versus hundreds of thousands of gains under Biden-Harris. It is worth noting that the Alliance for American Manufacturing (a non-partisan nonprofit) attributes Trump’s decline mainly to erratic trade policies that he enacted, not the pandemic.  

As we look to the future, our recommendation to the next president would be to focus on a balanced, "all of the above" energy policy that includes natural gas, nuclear and renewables to help power this resurgence of manufacturing. And the creation of a National Infrastructure Financing Authority (NIFA) to promote continued public-private partnerships in transportation, energy, climate, AI and more.  

Kamala Harris has the vision and experience to build on the initiatives that are already revitalizing industrial America. The choice is clear in this election. One candidate has a fresh vision for our future. And one has plans that are way more dangerous to our economic well-being than our failing infrastructure.  

Robert Wolf joined Fox News Channel (FNC) and Fox Business Network (FBN) as a contributor in 2016. Prior to joining FNC/FBN, Wolf spent 18 years at UBS, a global financial services firm where he held several senior positions including Chairman and CEO of UBS Americas and President and Chief Operating Officer of the Investment Bank. He joined UBS in 1994 after spending 10 years at Salomon Brothers.

Tim Ryan is a former congressman from Ohio and serves as senior advisor to the Progressive Policy Institute.