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alp227

(31,959 posts)
Fri Jun 8, 2012, 06:18 PM Jun 2012

Obama backtracks on comments that private sector is doing "fine"

Source: CBS

Just hours after President Obama said the "the private sector is doing fine" and Republican challenger Mitt Romney criticized him for being "out of touch," the president insisted that more work needs to be done to jump-start the economy.

"It's is absolutely clear that the economy is not doing fine, that's the reason I had the press conference," the president said Friday afternoon in response to a reporter's question.

During a news conference about the economy Friday morning, the president sought to explain how the European economic problems could impact the American recovery and pushed Congress to pass parts of his "to-do" list aimed to stimulate economic growth. But during a question and answer session, the president said the private sector is "doing fine," pointing to 27 months of job creation.

But the Romney campaign and other Republicans pounced, taking to Twitter to highlight the president's remark. And Romney told reporters in Council Bluffs, Iowa on Friday that "he's defining what it means to be detached and out of touch with the American people."

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57449822-503544/obama-backtracks-on-comments-that-private-sector-is-doing-fine/



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Obama backtracks on comments that private sector is doing "fine" (Original Post) alp227 Jun 2012 OP
When He Said That DallasNE Jun 2012 #1
Well maybe the problem is he identifies the private sector as corporations when it is so much more. dkf Jun 2012 #2
Consumers are the job creators thesquanderer Jun 2012 #3
We aren't the only consumers in the world you know. dkf Jun 2012 #8
*Small* businesses tend to cater to domestic populations. thesquanderer Jun 2012 #12
China’s auto sales grows by 16 percent in May, showing signs of stabilization dkf Jun 2012 #17
Two things... thesquanderer Jun 2012 #23
You're talking "Real World" stuff though... NorthCarolina Jun 2012 #16
OT, but I think you mean 'jibe' not 'jive' (unless you're coalition_unwilling Jun 2012 #18
Maybe I was NorthCarolina Jun 2012 #22
everyone I know has purchased a new car this year. progressivebydesign Jun 2012 #5
Depends where you are and what you do. Igel Jun 2012 #7
CNC is hot in many areas right now... BadtotheboneBob Jun 2012 #10
Wow where are you? dkf Jun 2012 #9
That's nothing like what I see here Coyote_Bandit Jun 2012 #13
Unemployment rate in California is currently holding at about 11%. And then coalition_unwilling Jun 2012 #19
Umm.. the private sector has added jobs every month for the past three years... progressivebydesign Jun 2012 #4
I don't know where you live and I'm happy that your region of the coalition_unwilling Jun 2012 #20
'Just hours after President Obama said the "the private sector is doing fine"...' unkachuck Jun 2012 #6
that's typical broke politics as usual may3rd Jun 2012 #15
The economy is fundamentally sound. BlueIris Jun 2012 #11
...yes, sounds like trouble to me too may3rd Jun 2012 #14
The companies HAVE been doing fine; it's the American worker that's getting pissed on... Blue_Tires Jun 2012 #21

DallasNE

(7,392 posts)
1. When He Said That
Fri Jun 8, 2012, 06:24 PM
Jun 2012

I translated it to mean that corporate profits, overall, are high so corporate America is doing fine.

 

dkf

(37,305 posts)
2. Well maybe the problem is he identifies the private sector as corporations when it is so much more.
Fri Jun 8, 2012, 07:43 PM
Jun 2012

I think he has exposed the problem with his economic emphasis...he cannot see small businesses who are the real job creators.

thesquanderer

(11,953 posts)
3. Consumers are the job creators
Fri Jun 8, 2012, 08:33 PM
Jun 2012

Until we are buying/consuming enough that businesses (big and small) need more employees, there won't be more jobs. That's why government spending is so important in lean times, it primes the pump, to break the chicken-and-egg cycle between consumers and businesses.

 

dkf

(37,305 posts)
8. We aren't the only consumers in the world you know.
Fri Jun 8, 2012, 10:16 PM
Jun 2012

The trick of wealthy nations is to export, not necessarily consume. There is a growing middle class in China and India that can easily dwarf the US population.

thesquanderer

(11,953 posts)
12. *Small* businesses tend to cater to domestic populations.
Fri Jun 8, 2012, 11:32 PM
Jun 2012

And U.S. products tend to be too expensive for typical Chinese and Indian consumers.

Regardless, what U.S. companies require in order to create more jobs is more demand. As long as they have enough employees to fill current demand, they have no need to hire more.

 

dkf

(37,305 posts)
17. China’s auto sales grows by 16 percent in May, showing signs of stabilization
Sat Jun 9, 2012, 11:48 AM
Jun 2012

BEIJING — China’s auto market revved to life in May despite the weakening economy, with vehicle sales jumping nearly 16 percent from a year earlier to 1.61 million units, industry figures showed Saturday.


But the auto sales data showed no strong improvement in sales of domestic brand vehicles, with most of the gains going to foreign automakers.

General Motors Co. and its joint ventures sold 231,183 vehicles in China in May, up 21 percent from the same month in 2011 and a slight improvement from April.

More than half were minivans sold by its SAIC-GM-Wuling joint venture, which saw sales soar 36 percent to 127,749 vehicles in May.

Ford Motor Co. reported its passenger vehicle sales climbed 23 percent from a year earlier to 34,550 units. Sales of both passenger and commercial Ford-brand vehicles rose 8 percent to 48,608, it reported earlier.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/chinas-auto-sales-grew-by-16-percent-in-may-showing-signs-of-stabilization/2012/06/09/gJQAOu7wPV_story.html

thesquanderer

(11,953 posts)
23. Two things...
Sun Jun 10, 2012, 02:24 AM
Jun 2012

First, car companies are not small businesses. Your argument seems to keep shifting!

Second, much of the car companies' success in these countries is from "joint ventures" -- i.e. products produced locally in those countries, with their cheap labor. So it's not like all those jobs from those auto sales are U.S. jobs, either.

(Also, I never said we don't sell anything to those countries, so I'm not sure what your point was in showing that American companies do sell things there. Okay, so I guess that was three things. )

progressivebydesign

(19,458 posts)
5. everyone I know has purchased a new car this year.
Fri Jun 8, 2012, 08:56 PM
Jun 2012

And many of my neighbors, too. My realtor can't even get 8 hours of sleep lately, as she's been selling homes every day with multiple offers and bidding wars. My husband's company has added 15 NEW positions in the past two years, and their sales are on trac to break records this year. People I know have bought second homes, giant tvs, taken trips to Fiji. My neighbors have been remodeling their homes.

Trying to figure out exactly why no one else sees that recovery that I see every single day. When I was looking for a job in 2007/2008 there were literally 12 jobs a day on Craigslist in my rather large community.. now there are hundreds. No, the recovery is not complete because of the scumbags in Congress that refuse to finish the job stimulus, but I cannot fathom how reasonably intelligent people can expect someone to fix eight years of disaster (here and globally,) in four years, with a hostile Congress and Supreme Court. Boggles the damn mind.

Igel

(35,191 posts)
7. Depends where you are and what you do.
Fri Jun 8, 2012, 09:48 PM
Jun 2012

On the way to church, just a few miles away, I pass help-wanted signs for decent jobs. CNC machinist, welder, that sort of thing. Unemployment rate for skilled or white collar workers is very low where I live.

Hop over a city or two and the situation's completely different.

BadtotheboneBob

(413 posts)
10. CNC is hot in many areas right now...
Fri Jun 8, 2012, 10:31 PM
Jun 2012

... I became one (CNC Machinist) in the early-90's when it was just ramping up and worked at it steady until I had to medically retire in '98. It's a great job. Highly technical and precise. Not what people would think of a 'shop job'. Programming and setting up $500k+ machining centers. Our company made very precise profile rail bearings that were used on the Hubble space telescope to move the cameras. Also huge ball-screws for the aircraft industry for flaps and landing gear. No widgets for us!

Coyote_Bandit

(6,783 posts)
13. That's nothing like what I see here
Sat Jun 9, 2012, 09:23 AM
Jun 2012

I know several highly skilled, experienced and well educated folks who have been looking for employment for years. The folks I know who feel fairly secure in their jobs are pinching their pennies and living frugally. Government services are still being reduced here because of revenue shortfalls.

That stimulus package didn't do much to improve our economy here. True, there was a lot of roadwork done here that was financed with those stimulus funds. But the crews that were contracted to do that work were all from surrounding states. Most of those workers had a 1 to 2 hour commute and largely took those stimulus funds home to their families, their community and their state.

 

coalition_unwilling

(14,180 posts)
19. Unemployment rate in California is currently holding at about 11%. And then
Sat Jun 9, 2012, 12:03 PM
Jun 2012

there are, of course, those us found guilty of being over 50 in an under-50 work zone.

progressivebydesign

(19,458 posts)
4. Umm.. the private sector has added jobs every month for the past three years...
Fri Jun 8, 2012, 08:52 PM
Jun 2012

.. what exactly is the problem here??? Oh I know, the media is incapable of actually looking things up for themselves, instead they need to feed the manufactured outrages of the fuckheads that sent the jobs overseas, and continue bleeding the States and local municipalities dry.. so that Mittens can have that car garage.

So is it official? Did we finally hit the Idiocracy stage? Anyone with even an 8th grade education KNOWS what he meant.

 

coalition_unwilling

(14,180 posts)
20. I don't know where you live and I'm happy that your region of the
Sat Jun 9, 2012, 12:06 PM
Jun 2012

country seems to be flourishing.

But the private sector has not added enough jobs to keep up with natural growth of the work force, at least not last month, when only 69,000 jobs were added but 150,000 were required just to keep even with natural growth of the work force.

I'm speaking nationally, of course, and not about your region.

My region, California, is in a dead-cat-bounce oscillation pattern right now.

 

unkachuck

(6,295 posts)
6. 'Just hours after President Obama said the "the private sector is doing fine"...'
Fri Jun 8, 2012, 09:42 PM
Jun 2012

....c'mon, Team Obama, stop playing games and start kicking puke ass....

....propose a simple, direct, job creating package of legislation aimed at the middle-class that the pukes will reject....then blame slick-willard for 'being out of touch' and the pukes for destroying jobs and the rising unemployment....quit letting the pukes have their way and allowing them to define the debate....

....even a dumb-fuck like me understands you can't win playing on their turf....or maybe you're satisfied with being a one-term president?

 

may3rd

(593 posts)
15. that's typical broke politics as usual
Sat Jun 9, 2012, 09:39 AM
Jun 2012

sound bytes are always twisted for political gain.
the true message is ignored for a campaign slogan that appeals to the party donors .

I do believe with half the US population drawing some type of state benefit, the US economy has reached a tipping point that doesn't favor the shrinking working class taxpayer.

But, politicians will continue to fiddle...

Blue_Tires

(55,445 posts)
21. The companies HAVE been doing fine; it's the American worker that's getting pissed on...
Sat Jun 9, 2012, 01:04 PM
Jun 2012

Asia and India can't build stuff fast enough to keep up with U.S. demand for outsourcing...

And what about the Dow Jones?? All the talking heads were apocalyptic back when it was under 8,000 but Wall Street still cries poverty when it's over 11,000?

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