A grassroots organization focused on the intelligent and sustainable development, preservation and revitalization of Tulsa.
 
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Did you miss your activation email?
March 28, 2024, 07:41:51 am
Pages: [1] 2   Go Down
  Print  
Author Topic: "It's Time For Companies To Step Up"  (Read 5877 times)
Conan71
Recovering Republican
T-Town Elder
******
Offline Offline

Posts: 29334



« on: May 12, 2011, 08:42:30 am »

Interesting way to try and lay the failure of the porkulus at the hands of the corporate world.  It would be helpful if the President actually understood how business works, but, well, details.  Companies will hire workers when needed.  With very rare exceptions, they don't supply jobs just for the sake of supplying jobs.  When they need the employees, they will hire them.  

That said, there's a lot else I actually like in his comments.  If he succeeds in reeling in speculation on commodities, particularly oil, that could be a true legacy move on his part.

"We've got a lot more work to do to get businesses to invest and to hire," he told the audience in remarks broadcast on Thursday."

"It is time for companies to step up," Obama said. "American taxpayers contributed to that process of stabilizing the economy. Companies have benefited from that, and they're making a lot of money, and now's the time for them to start betting on American workers and American products."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/12/us-obama-economy-idUSTRE74B2KZ20110512?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

Logged

"It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first” -Ronald Reagan
guido911
T-Town Elder
******
Offline Offline

Posts: 12171



« Reply #1 on: May 12, 2011, 04:19:05 pm »

Why should companies "step up" to anything. After, there is nothing more important than working for government.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/05/12/obama_there_is_nothing_more_important_than_a_government_job.html
Logged

Someone get Hoss a pacifier.
Conan71
Recovering Republican
T-Town Elder
******
Offline Offline

Posts: 29334



« Reply #2 on: May 12, 2011, 04:53:51 pm »

Why should companies "step up" to anything. After, there is nothing more important than working for government.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/05/12/obama_there_is_nothing_more_important_than_a_government_job.html

What do you expect since he's been suckling on the public teat for what, 15 years and has been living in government housing for the last couple of years.  Wink
Logged

"It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first” -Ronald Reagan
nathanm
T-Town Elder
******
Offline Offline

Posts: 8240


« Reply #3 on: May 12, 2011, 05:13:55 pm »

He's right to some degree. We've been throwing fistfuls of dollars at the private sector for a couple of years now and all we've got to show for it is a very slowly growing economy. If we had full employment demand would obviously be higher.

It's something of a catch 22. There's no political will to throw money at average folks, so consumption spending is lower than usual. This low consumption spending leads to lower demand and thus fewer jobs. Without money, demand will not recover in the short term.
Logged

"Labor is prior to and independent of capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration" --Abraham Lincoln
carltonplace
Historic Artifact
City Father
*****
Offline Offline

Posts: 4587



WWW
« Reply #4 on: May 13, 2011, 07:01:03 am »

I took it that his comments were aimed at the bailed out banks.
Logged
Conan71
Recovering Republican
T-Town Elder
******
Offline Offline

Posts: 29334



« Reply #5 on: May 13, 2011, 07:40:33 am »

I took it that his comments were aimed at the bailed out banks.



Shhhh.  This is my bash Obama moment, Carlton.

I did gather that context in another story as well.  If the banks have no use for the additional workforce though, it's the same problem other companies would have.  Why hire people who have nothing better to do than post on Facebook or TNF all day?  They could just go to work for the government instead Wink

Logged

"It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first” -Ronald Reagan
carltonplace
Historic Artifact
City Father
*****
Offline Offline

Posts: 4587



WWW
« Reply #6 on: May 13, 2011, 08:19:06 am »

Carry on - Bash away.

maybe those bailed out banks can start loaning money to small business owners so that those entrepreneurs can grow their businesses and hire more people? Its trickle down economics "Obama style":Big Government bails out too big to fail banks which relax their purse strings and throw money at small business owners which grow the economy and hire people and pay them and those people buy goods and services sending more small business owners back to the banks to get more loans. Makes perfect sense...how could you find any fault with that.
Logged
TheArtist
T-Town Elder
******
Offline Offline

Posts: 6804



WWW
« Reply #7 on: May 13, 2011, 08:23:02 am »

  How is it these companies have all this extra money... if they arent selling goods and services?  
Logged

"When you only have two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other."-Chinese proverb. "Arts a staple. Like bread or wine or a warm coat in winter. Those who think it is a luxury have only a fragment of a mind. Mans spirit grows hungry for art in the same way h
carltonplace
Historic Artifact
City Father
*****
Offline Offline

Posts: 4587



WWW
« Reply #8 on: May 13, 2011, 08:26:27 am »

Don't step out of the circle.
Logged
Conan71
Recovering Republican
T-Town Elder
******
Offline Offline

Posts: 29334



« Reply #9 on: May 13, 2011, 08:36:33 am »

Don't step out of the circle.

Bahahaha!  I agree with your prior post.  Unfortunately banks seem to be making too much profit on other investments instead of loaning money.  I don't know what the solution is to get them to loosen up.  It's obvious with CD rates around 1.5% they aren't interested in loaning.
Logged

"It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first” -Ronald Reagan
we vs us
City Father
*****
Offline Offline

Posts: 3312



« Reply #10 on: May 13, 2011, 09:01:55 am »

Obama's got to make this argument, because his stimulus (and, it should be noted, the Bush Admin's TARP programs) were based on saving industry first, so it could turn around next and save the citizenry. 

I support him in asking this of business -- especially banks, but also of most of the fortune 500 -- because the trickle down mechanism has obviously stalled, and since that's the mechanism the stimulus strategy was (erroneously IMO) based on, I want it to work now, if only to improve the country's fortunes.  I think trusting that mechanism was wrong from the beginning and is wrong now, but as a wise man once said, you can't change horses in midstream -- especially when slightly less than a $trillion has already gone out the door on the horse's back. 
Logged
Conan71
Recovering Republican
T-Town Elder
******
Offline Offline

Posts: 29334



« Reply #11 on: May 13, 2011, 11:25:39 am »

Obama's got to make this argument, because his stimulus (and, it should be noted, the Bush Admin's TARP programs) were based on saving industry first, so it could turn around next and save the citizenry.  

I support him in asking this of business -- especially banks, but also of most of the fortune 500 -- because the trickle down mechanism has obviously stalled, and since that's the mechanism the stimulus strategy was (erroneously IMO) based on, I want it to work now, if only to improve the country's fortunes.  I think trusting that mechanism was wrong from the beginning and is wrong now, but as a wise man once said, you can't change horses in midstream -- especially when slightly less than a $trillion has already gone out the door on the horse's back.  


Or hopefully a better dynamic has occurred: we've finally learned something from binge & purge cycles of the past and employers are getting better productivity out of the workforce and being far more cautious moving forward.  A slow and steady recovery would be far preferable to an artificial one which might collapse again in a matter of years, much like 2001 to late 2007 when it became apparent the wheels were coming off again.

I'd mentioned several months ago that small business people I've spoken with in my day-to-day work seem to agree 9% UE may be the new norm.  Keep in mind the 9% does not include those not working who have slipped off the rolls.  I hope I'm wrong.  I'd love to see it back near 5% again so long as it's not the result of unsustainable borrowing.  One serious problem we have right now is pump prices when it comes to consumer demand for goods.  The demand is still there, but gasoline being $1 or so higher than this time last year means a large portion of consumers have less to spend at Walmarts and Whorehouse Market.
Logged

"It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first” -Ronald Reagan
nathanm
T-Town Elder
******
Offline Offline

Posts: 8240


« Reply #12 on: May 13, 2011, 01:53:39 pm »

 How is it these companies have all this extra money... if they arent selling goods and services?  
They also aren't spending much, so they have ridiculous cash reserves right now.

And they are selling stuff; the economy isn't that bad for those with college degrees. Unemployment is only around 6% among that set. It's much, much higher among those with only a high school diploma (16% last I looked) or associates degree (12%). There is even job growth, it's just not much higher than the growth in those seeking employment, leaving us looking at 10-15 years to get back to full employment at the present rate.

And it turns out that last year's job vacancy data that prompted everyone to claim that structural unemployment was now higher than it was in the past was just bad data.

Part of the problem is that the Fed is being very skittish because of all the people claiming that our bond yields and inflation are on the rise, which is in complete contradiction to the data. It's like the people in the UK and Germany claiming that austerity is actually expansionary, economically speaking. People are, as usual, talking a bunch of ideological bullshit that has nothing to do with reality. Including a lot of economists. (One reason why I like to read Krugman is that he is usually very clear about when his writing is flowing from his ideology and when it's flowing from actual data)

Oh, and Conan, the 9% includes everyone who is looking for a job, regardless of whether they actually are receiving benefits. There are in fact a couple percentage points more of 'discouraged' workers who were looking for a job and would like to have a job but have not looked in the last two weeks or month (I forget which), plus another cadre of folks who are working part time but would prefer full time employment (aka the underemployed).

There has been a decline in the labor participation rate, but that's largely due to the beginning of the baby boomer retirement wave.
« Last Edit: May 13, 2011, 01:57:19 pm by nathanm » Logged

"Labor is prior to and independent of capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration" --Abraham Lincoln
Red Arrow
T-Town Elder
******
Offline Offline

Posts: 10889


WWW
« Reply #13 on: May 13, 2011, 04:20:23 pm »

There has been a decline in the labor participation rate, but that's largely due to the beginning of the baby boomer retirement wave.

Hey, if you young guys want to support me in a manner to which I would like to become accustomed (better than now), I will gladly retire and leave room in the labor market for you youngsters.  I deserve it!
Logged

 
nathanm
T-Town Elder
******
Offline Offline

Posts: 8240


« Reply #14 on: May 13, 2011, 06:34:07 pm »

Hey, if you young guys want to support me in a manner to which I would like to become accustomed (better than now), I will gladly retire and leave room in the labor market for you youngsters.  I deserve it!
Some of us are attempting to make sure you don't see your Social Security benefits decreased and your Medicare turned into a discount program. I'd go on about the challenge of doing so in this political environment, but as Conan mentioned in a recent thread, it's gotten to the point of beating a dead horse.
Logged

"Labor is prior to and independent of capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration" --Abraham Lincoln
Pages: [1] 2   Go Up
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

 
  Hosted by TulsaConnect and Powered by SMF 1.1.21 | SMF © 2015, Simple Machines
 

Mission

 

"TulsaNow's Mission is to help Tulsa become the most vibrant, diverse, sustainable and prosperous city of our size. We achieve this by focusing on the development of Tulsa's distinctive identity and economic growth around a dynamic, urban core, complemented by a constellation of livable, thriving communities."
more...

 

Contact

 

2210 S Main St.
Tulsa, OK 74114
(918) 409-2669
info@tulsanow.org