Actor John Ratzenberger to appear at Des Moines manufacturing forum

It’s a little known fact that John Ratzenberger, the actor famous for his role as trivia-loving mailman Cliff Clavin on “Cheers,” believes that the loss of American manufacturing jobs is the top issue facing the nation today — an issue that affects everyone and lies at the core of what Americans are. Ratzenberger would know, too. He grew up in Bridgeport, Conn., a manufacturing town. He had family members who worked in manufacturing and himself worked as a house framer at one time. Now he hosts “Made in America” a show on the Travel Channel that showcases various manufacturing facilities around the United States. Ratzenberger sees the loss of American manufacturing as the most important issue facing the nation. He talked about it via a phone interview on Tuesday with the Daily News. “Once the factories close down and people leave and they’re out of work, well, your taxes go up to pay the welfare. Your taxes also go up because the city has to function. Someone’s got to pay them and your property taxes go up,” he said. “The next time you buy a T-shirt made in China, realize that it’s actually more expensive. It’s not cheaper because what it does to your community is irreparable damages that you can’t undo.” Tonight, Ratzenberger will appear at a forum in Des Moines, hosted by the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM), titled ‘Keep it Made in America.” The Des Moines town hall meeting is the second of seven national meetings being held to increase voter awareness about the challenges facing American workers and manufacturers and to call for presidential candidates to pay more attention to the issue. “Whatever issue the candidates talk about, it all comes down to the loss of manufacturing jobs in the United States,” Ratzenberger said. “We want to expose the danger of that and let people know this is an important issue.” To help save American manufacturing jobs, Ratzenberger recommends tariffs on Chinese goods imported to the United States, noting that while China heavily taxes U.S. exports, the United States allows low cost Chinese goods into the country that kill competition. The Des Moines event takes place at the Iowa Events Center, 730 Third St. in Des Moines. Doors will open at 6 p.m. with the program following at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free and is open to the general public. Newton Mayor Chaz Allen is scheduled to appear at the forum along with Ratzenberger. “John gets the challenges we’re facing. He understands the impact of job losses and factory closings on our community,” Allen said in a prepared statement. “Manufacturing is still the largest sector of Iowa’s economy, but we need to overcome some real obstacles. Our state has lost more than 22,000 manufacturing jobs since 2000 — jobs that hard-working Iowa families depended on. It’s time for the presidential candidates to stand up for the workers and manufacturers in Iowa.” Ratzenberger said he hopes to help voters understand the importance of the issue and encourages them to bring the issue to the forefront in the upcoming presidential election. “My job, your job, Shaquille O’Neal, we could disappear tomorrow and the country would get along just fine,” he said, “but when manufacturing disappears, the rest of us are in big, big trouble because this is the foundation of who we are.”