Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
the president is expected to talk about his pro-business agenda in the state of
the union this is supposed to be part of his effort to create more jobs here
but does that make sense
according to the economic policy institute american companies created
more than two million jobs in twenty ten fantastic right
but it turns out fewer than half of them were created here in america
it turns out one point four million of them
or created outside of the united states
actually don't blame the company's they're not
american companies they are
multi
national
they're going where the there where their sheet labor at lower costs some of
them like g_m_ are going to wear the new consumers aren't china in this case this
year's g_m_ sold more cars in china than in the u_s_
but it was u_s_ taxpayers who bailed them out
and that's my point
helping so-called u_s_ companies doesn't necessarily help the average american
these companies are now multinational corporations with no wildly gation to
the american people whatsoever
their policy if we give big business everything then and then that will help
american workers
but a great piece in the national journal shows that's not true at all
look quote here's what they say rapid advancements in technology and the
opening of new international markets paying dividends for american companies
but not for american workers
it's been good for business but bad for you
here's what happened with jobs while multinationals were making record
profits
job growth in the two thousands was the lowest of any decade ever recorded by
the federal government
end quote real middle-class incomes fell from two thousand to two thousand seven
and other first in u_s_ record-keeping
expand maisie
we were told that it would just give big business what they want they would hire
here and we would be better off
that proved to be
so why is president president getting ready to make that same case tomorrow
night
and a democratic president at that
those are important questions
joining me now to help answer some of those questions is robert wright she's
former labor secretary for president clinton
is a professor at u_c_ berkeley
and author of
aftershock
the next economy america's future
secretary russia it's great pleasure to have you here tonight
and let me start by ask you about this concept of the u_s_ businesses
isn't really any such thing left
who have not many
i mean our small businesses
that are u_s_ businesses of their employees their shareholders if they
have any
has certainly their customers are u_s_-based but increasingly large
american businesses are going to local they are international entities they get
there
supplies all over the world they have customers all over the world their
investors
increasingly are also all over the world then they have their headquarters
here the united states but uh... that's not would necessarily weather making
their money
and the question you raise is going to be very central question in the next
decade
why is it that we should
for to the needs and wants and wishes american businesses critically big
businesses
when in fact their goal to make money
particularly for their shareholders
may not have anything to do work even the remotest linkage to the wages and
the
well-being and certainly the job growth of the americans here back in the united
states
so we were told you know if the last thirty years and certainly for the last
in the bush years two thousand two thousand eight
paid we just give them more tax breaks
if we just give them subsidies if we give them x_y_ and z_
they will create the jobs here
now did that not happen if you didn't happen
has been a while and any of our politicians learned that lesson
headache it did not happen
now led to a it's very important understand this american companies big
american companies
are making a lot of money
and fact they're sitting on about a trillion dollars of cash
uh... the problem is they're making the money by selling abroad not necessarily
sent from the guide stays there selling from their operations abroad
there also making a lot of money because they're
their actually
reducing their costs here are the united states the biggest cause they have a
in the united states is their payrolls so they've been fighting unions they've
been outsourcing abroad they've been replacing workers in united states with
automated machinery
don't get me wrong i'm not blaming them because as you said before companies
exist to make money they don't exist to create jobs ap and we gotta keep that
distinction very very clearly in front of us do american politicians understand
this distinction well good question i don't think a lot of them do a lot of
them are still a lot
sort of uh... mesmerized by the idea that
somehow american competitiveness is the same thing as the
and the profitability of american companies
sector adj i know about the republicans are you know you followed a annandale
nay vote for these guys they vote for the tax rates
breaks every single time i
so i do them as a wholly owned subsidiary of multinational corporations
it's that's not the question the question is we got a democratic
president about a give state of the union here
and he seems to be buying into that ideology looks like he's going to get
try to become querulous entrance was seizes me just newscorp wrist
and that he's going to say all right i give in to big business i'm gonna work
with the chamber of
commerce and uh... you know we're going to all of his republican set
right doesn't that sound like not just a bad i idea policy-wise but a bad idea
politically
basically saying the other side is right
told read it is a bad idea quickly i didn't know what politically
it is very important for any president democratic or republican to hold out the
welcoming maktoob in big business to make sure that he
is not perceived
as being anti business but at the same time you are right there is a danger
here if a president
project leader by credit president that has a constituency that is different
from the republicans constituency
that is basically the working people of america says over and over again that
the interest of big business is the same as the interest of working people in
there
how are they were going to get confused by that message
and particularly if a president starts believing it we must not be students
this is the bottom line i hope the president is not abused we must not be
seduced by the idea that the interest big business
it which is global
and making money is the same thing as the interest of the average american
working people or people who are out of jobs
it's no longer the same thing it might have been the same thing
you know when engine charlie wilson the head of general motors
who came into the truman administration said
the interest of g_m_ is the same as the interest america it's not the same thing
any longer
audino unless they on this uh... you real quick center edge
active president obama keeps going down this path it is proven
to not work over the last ten years where you just give big business in
they don't create jobs here
are we going to be able to create any jobs over the next two years and then if
we don't want is the president in massive trouble for his reelection
well that's the look at that this is the critical ab
political peace
and the president understands i mean i haven't contact i've i've met the
president three times i've met a a lot of people around him
i am in contact with him i know that he and his advisers understand
they've got to bring down unemployment they've got to show by the election by
twenty twelve that were not in the right direction how we're going the right
direction in a very fast way they've jobs are being created
in the united states
as so in the president is going to use whatever leverage he has with the
business community
to create jobs here
that means every tax break he gives to business he's got to get a reassurance
back from business that they're going to use those tax breaks to create new jobs
here
yeah i think that's answer right there because
it's wanting to give them money but it's something to say all go spend a wherever
you like ever get out of the money or we're going to give them breaks
if they've got to spend it here otherwise no deal
yesterday a quid pro quo idea
absolutely thank you so much out of sector is really appreciate you joining
us tonight
pressure