Coalition policies center on fair trade and tax reform
OFU Members at Dayton Summit: L-R Sibyl Miller, Jay Fry, Rev. Vanessa Cummings, William Miller, Ron Sylvester, Michael Stumo (CEO of Coalition for a Prosperous America) Roger Wise, Joe Logan.
On a sunny day in Dayton, Ohio two weeks ago an unlikely assembly of farmers, labor leaders, local politicians, former Reagan Administration officials, academics and business owners came together to discuss what ails the American economic system and what can be done about it.
Organized by the Coalition for a Prosperous America, the event was one of several regional meetings held across Ohio in the past couple of months. Drawing its support from a support network of manufacturers, labor and agricultural organizations, CPA describes its mission as working for a new and positive U.S. trade policy that delivers prosperity and security to American citizens, farms, factories and working people. CPA views the U.S. trade deficit as an economic headwind, holding U.S. industry and agriculture back while allowing emerging economies to grow on the backs of displaced American workers and shuttered factories and farms.
In August alone, the U.S. trade deficit was nearly $29 billion. Agricultural products are as much a part of the issue as the manufactured goods consumers hear so much about in the media. According to CPA, the U.S. is now a net importer of these products as well.
