Uncertainty keeps cash on the sidelines

At the same time President Obama and Congress were locked in combat over raising the nation’s debt ceiling, leaders of state manufacturing associations from across America were meeting right here in Washington.

Despite the 3,000-mile distance, our futures — and their problems — are intertwined.

As the debt ceiling debate raged, our nation’s debt climbed to $14.3 trillion, the U.S. Treasury’s cash on hand dwindled to $74 billion and America teetered on the brink of insolvency. Meanwhile, Apple, the world’s second largest corporation, was sitting on $76 billion in cash. A single U.S. company had...