Who or what is the President talking about America being soft and lazy?

[sad sally]

Since the official labor statistics indicate it's not workers who've grown soft and lazy, and they're not the ones who can "entice" business to invest in America, seems that the President might want to clarify who he's talking about. Or is this just newspeak to say American workers need to work harder for less - be competitive with those workers making $3 per day?
#####

Back in September he told a TV station that the U.S. had “gotten a little soft’’ when it came to competing in international markets.

On Saturday, speaking at a business forum on the sidelines of an economic summit in Honolulu, he said the U.S. had been “lazy’’ when it came to enticing businesses to invest in America.

“But we’ve been a little bit lazy, I think, over the last couple of decades,’’ the president said. “We’ve kind of taken for granted -- well, people will want to come here and we aren’t out there hungry, selling America and trying to attract new business into America."

Soft and lazy. Sounds like America could use a few months on Parris Island.

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/nov/12/news/la-pn-obama-lazy-business-20111112?du

#####
Here's the Bureau of Labor Statistics for
PRODUCTIVITY AND COSTS
Third Quarter 2011, Preliminary
Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased at a 3.1 percent annual
rate during the third quarter of 2011, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
reported today, with output and hours worked rising 3.8 percent and 0.6
percent, respectively. (All quarterly percent changes in this release are
seasonally adjusted annual rates.) From the third quarter of 2010 to the
third quarter of 2011, output increased 2.5 percent as hours rose 1.4 percent,
resulting in a 1.1 percent increase in productivity. (See tables A and 2.)

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/prod2.nr0.htm?du

[tblue]

1. Can you say "Tone Deaf"?

I swear he could drive me to drink. Out of touch, to put it very, very mildly.

[FrenchieCat]

3. You need to start reading and stop taking in the propaganda without question....

or else you will appear out of touch.


If you google this story, the Corporate media and the Freepers are
up in arms, and apparently, so are you.

He was talking to CEOs.....not the American people! Doh! :eyes:

[sufrommich]

5. This is the second freeper news inspired OP I've read within

the last 15 minutes.

[tblue]

19. Oh please.

Let's just sprinkle daisies and rainbows around Obama because everything he does is so wonderful and he has our best interest at heart always always always.

[dionysus]

22. Oh Please. let's camapaign against obama, no matter what he does, because we can't stand his ass,

and we don't give a shit if we use freeper material to do so, because we'd rather have a republican in office just so we can get our revenge over obama being elected in the first place.


that's a more accurate framing of the situation.

:hi:

[tblue]

23. I think there are arguments for and against him.

Why should he be off limits? He's not the Baby Jesus and he's not your boyfriend or your child. (I don't mean YOU personally, but people act like their bf is being attacked and that he needs their personal protection.) He's a politician. Love him or hate him, that is what he is. What he does is fair game for criticism and objective analysis. I do not cut him extra slack for any reason -- being a Dem or the first black president. The honeymoon is over and he's responsible for his actions, not me.

[sinkingfeeling]

2. Where did he say workers were soft or lazy? He's talking about the competitive nature of US

businesses. They have gotten soft and lazy in enticing new business.

[elleng]

4. Yes,

Thanks

[sad sally]

9. US businesses have been moving work somewhere else that used to done in America

for over decade in order to be competitive. Both manufacturers and services are done in countries with the cheapest wages - supposedly so they can offer lower prices (which is a stretch to believe). Profits for US companies have soared. Is the President saying those companies are soft and lazy? If yes, are they supposed to become more competitive and entice new business to come back to America by telling US workers to work for the same cheapest wages they pay in some other country? If no, then who are the soft and lazy US businesses?

[CJCRANE]

10. That's the whole thing about "selling"...

you can sell a more expensive product if you do it right (if the quality is higher for example). There's no reason to take it in a negative light.

[pampango]

15. Apparently one hears what one wants to hear. He was referring to business attitudes

not those of workers.

[RegieRocker]

21. Bulkseye!

[Jack Rabbit]

6. Are you sure that wasn't Sharron Angle speaking?

You can make more money on unemployment than you can going down and getting one of those jobs that is an honest job, but it doesn't pay as much. And so that's what's happened to us is that we have put in so much entitlement into our government that we really have spoiled our citizenry and said you don't want the jobs that are available.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .-- Sharron Angle, on unemployment benefits, interview with KRNO, July 14, 2010

[CJCRANE]

7. "On Saturday, speaking at a business forum".

Um...I wonder if he's talking to and about business leaders. Seems pretty clear that he is.

[EFerrari]

8. He too often sort of wags his finger at people and problems

he doesn't seem to understand.

[Obamanaut]

11. Maybe he saw some of the adult, and childhood, obesity rates. That would

be an indicator re soft, don't you think? Maybe lazy too.

[MedleyMisty]

17. The food that most Americans can afford

is food that makes you fat. It takes money to not be obese.

[Obamanaut]

18. With more than 300 million of us, can you *really* say 'most American' with

accuracy?

[badtoworse]

12. I suppose government policies had nothing to do with jobs leaving.

High labor costs are an issue to be sure. So are high energy costs, high corporate tax rates and an out of control EPA and other regulatory agencies. On top of that, we've opened our own markets up to overseas producers after imposing that business environment on our manufacturers. In fairness, a lot of that is not Obama's doing, but so far, he's done little to make the country more competitive.

The bottom line is that we need to be more competitive in the world market. Businesses operate in a competitive environment and that is not going to change. If we want jobs in the US, we are going to have to compete with the rest of the world for them. That is not a popular concept on DU, but there is no way around it.

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Swede]

14. You sure went around in circles to justify the bullshit op title.

[sad sally]

16. You're right, of course. US businesses and US workers have nothing to do with each other.

[Marr]

20. It's just more of the usual neoliberal, free trade bullshit.