By GottaLaff
I came in late, but here you go... liveblogging:
Jobs report is best we've seen since 2007.
Economy is growing, but companies still worried about hiring.
Amercians can't wait, and we won't wait... we need to do everything we can right now to get our friends, neighbors back to work.
So, yesterday we had a jobs forum. We talked about investments in clean energy, making America a global leader in renewable technology. Make homes energy efficient... Rebuilding infrastructure of our economy. I'll speak more about this on Tuesday.
But we need to do more to manage our way through this crisis. Communities were struggling even when economy was doing well. The recession is not a new challenge, it's a permanent one, a decade or more.
We must face up to our challenges. That's why I've taken on our broken health care system. [big applause]
That's why we're taking on our education system. [applause]
And upgrading community colleges, just like this one. [applause]
I'm committed to bringing down the deficit.
We have to do all this, because for decades gov't. avoided doing what was right rather than what was easy.
I didn't run for president to sweep problems under the rug with the next election in mind. I want to [fix things] right now. [huge applause]
Bottom line: I know times are tough. Members of our family are out of work. Only a few years ago, we were still paying off our student loans. Michelle and I aren't that far away from that. I won't rest till things are better. You may not agree with my decisions, but I'll always tell you the truth about them.
I will always be there right with you in the thick of that fight.
3 Questions:
Q: I appreciate your trying to stimulate economy. In college, we're studying criminology. Check out legalizing prostitution, gambling, drugs, non violent crime to stimulate economy? [laughter]
A: I appreciate the boldness of your question. That will not be my job strategy. [laughter] First, you're supposed to question conventional wisdom in college, so you're doing what you're supposed to be doin'. [laughter] Truth is, transitions in our economy means manufacture will never be as high as it was in the fifties. We're competing overseas, plus now it takes fewer people because of technology. There will be a shift in our economy. But advanced manufacturing based on infrastructure and green tech are still enormous.
We have old infrastructure and new. Smart grid for example. Our old electricity network is not efficient, it leaks. We need to create a new efficient grid, save 10-20% ... We should corner wind tech, battery and solar tech. But, to take advantage of this new future, we have to invest now. Infrastructure bank is one idea... leverage private sector $$ along side public sector. Prioritize needs.
Clean energy is a triple win: Invest now, change HOW we do business for oil independence, econ, we can clean up our environment, put people to work right now, and these jobs can't be shipped out, will be done here.
2 other components: From day I started, it was all about jobs, but attention spans are short, people have questioned this. Health care is part of where we want to take our economy. We're not diverting attention, it's part of it [paraphrased]. [applause] So us being able to control HC costs, allow businesses to pool with other businesses, have leverage against Big Insurance, that's part of our jobs growth.
Last pt: Education. In Asia, we talked about trade, exports. I want to send goods from U.S. out there [applause]. There are opportunities to export without spending a lot of money. If we increase just 5%, opening up new markets, we'll create new jobs. We will have to work just as hard, we can't take for granted that we have strongest economy, we need to work smart to create jobs of the future.
Q: What will you do to loosen up $ for small businesses? Credit is a priority... Manufacturing is changing... the credit markets... Our concern is will the banks be there with us, and we don't feel they will. We need support.
A: Financial sector... When we came in, before we came in, the Lehman's crash. The banks, the hedge funds, the whole financial system had leveraged so much.... They were lending like crazy even though they knew the loans made no sense. No money down for mortgages, interest only mortgages... that was just the housing sector. They were giving loans to unqualified buyers, and chopping up the loans into securities. The securities would sell for what they weren't worth. A lot of funny business going on in Wall St, and govt. wasn't regulating.
Consequences... stuff was bogus, no value beneath loans, could have been a complete collapse. We stepped in to avoid meltdown into Great Depression... successfully. The interventions were cheaper and more effective than we predicted. EVeryone thought bank bailout was 700 billion... most will be paid back w/ interest. We've already made 10s of billions to pay off deficits. We've successfully stabilized... but:
Problem: Now banks have swung in opposite direction, not giving credit to credit worthy businesses. We're telling them, the tax payers cleaned up for you, you now should be there for community. [applause].
What we're hoping is to push them to get right balance. Give loans on fair terms, and govt might sometimes help.
I hope to meet w/ bankers again before end of year to tell them You have a responsibility now, to help make sure Main St. gets loans it needs. I'm optimistic that next year, credit will flow more smoothly.
Question: Investments on Wall St... enough safeguards?
A: No. Congress works incredibly hard, but moves... well, deliberately [laughter]. It takes time to get things done. The Senate in particular because of rules. You need 60 votes for everything, now the opposition evokes filibuster for everything. Financial reg. reform was a top priority. We've gone thru a whole series of committees... now Senate has to pass its version, just like health care bill. The public thinks, What are these folks doing? Each committee has hearings, everyone has to talk, have amendments. Then bills get merged... Sometimes gives you a headache, but that's democracy. It's not easy to get anything done, but it keeps us stable. But frustrating.
We've put out specific financial reforms. We have big companies, too big to fail... if you're that big, you better have a whole bunch of safeguards so we don't have to bail you out [applause]
The other part: A consumer watchdog with actual teeth. We want it to be more effective. We want mechanisms so, if a big bank or insurance company is in trouble, there's a way to quarantine them so they don't infect rest of system.
If we get package past, we'll have this in place. But... a lot of banks and financial systems are fighting this. You're seeing bonus payments coming out, forgetting we yanked them out of the fire. So it's important to get regulation done, hopefully early next year. Banks are pushing back, with ads... untrue ones. Same as health care ads... big ads saying there's govt takeover. No, we're making sure you're not getting gypped by insurance companies! [applause]
One more question by student: Army veteran... Vet. Admin.... I've called them a lot about GI Bill, but haven't gotten any benefits yet. They're often busy, have to call back. Can you call them up and ask them to get more people to work with them? [big applause]
A: We will get your name... you went straight to the top here, [laughs, applause] I suspect someone will be calling you in about 2 seconds. [laughter]
We will whip the VA into shape, we have a solemn obligation to look after our vets when they come home. Post 9/11 GI Bill a good example of it. Old GI Bill built our middle class. Training, upgrading skills is vital to our future. We've increased the budget for VA by 11%, largest in 30 years, we're increasing again this year.
Shinseki will upgrade old systems. You shouldn't have to call, you should be able to get online. So you're telling me we haven't upgraded. Growing demand, and we'll get it in good place by the time I'm through in Washington. And I promise you'll be getting a return phone call.
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