Obama Says ‘Made in America’ at Heart of U.S. Recovery

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AFL-CIO News Blog

by Mike Hall,

President Obama today told the AFL-CIO Executive Council, “We are going to keep fighting for an economy that works for everybody, not just a privileged few.” He also said that with the help of working families and their unions,

we are going to rebuild our economy stronger than before, and at the heart of it will be three simple words: made in America.

Speaking on his 49th birthday at the Washington (D.C) Convention Center, the president told the council that this fall’s election is a choice between

polices that encourage job creation here in America or encourage jobs to go elsewhere…The choice is whether we want to go forward or we want to go backwards to the same policies that got us into this mess in the first place.

He spoke about the need to invest in clean technology, like solar panels, wind turbines, nuclear plants, clean coal and new car batteries.

Instead of giving tax breaks to corporations that want to ship jobs overseas, we want to give tax breaks to companies that are investing right here in the United States of America.

37 minute video here: http://c-span.org/Watch/Media/2010/08/04/HP/A/36563/Pres+Obama+Remarks+at+AFLCIO+Executive+Council+Meeting.aspx

Read more: http://blog.aflcio.org/2010/08/04/obama-says-made-in-america-is-at-heart-of-economic-recovery-2/

---

President Obama spoke today at the AFL-CIO Executive Council meeting. Seated (from left): AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker.

FULL story at link.

[musette_sf]

1. That means IT JOBS too, Mr. President.

And Madame Secretary.

We don't have any gap at all of qualified people for IT jobs.

What we have is a gap in ethics, and immense greed.

[OhioChick]

4. +1 n/t

[hootinholler]

5. Why are they paying for offshore training?

In case you missed it, 22 million to train offshore people in Java technologies.

:grr:

-Hoot

[musette_sf]

13. Oh, I saw that

:mad:

If there *isn't* a master plan being implemented to completely disenfranchise the middle class, then WHY have all the IT opportunities been offshored?

Seems I remember back in the 90s when daytime TV shows had a surfeit of ads for IT schools, and jobs were actually available. Now all the ads are for "schools" for dead-end crap "careers" with NO advancement and NO future.

[OhioChick]

31. Hope, Change, FAIL n/t

[golfguru]

32. One world government is good! n/t

[KoKo]

12. Already posted TODAY..."US to TRAIN 3,000 OFFSHORE "IT" WORKERS!!!

Robbien Donating Member (1000+ posts) Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Tue Aug-03-10 07:54 PM
Original message
U.S. To Train 3,000 Offshore IT Workers

Source: Information Week

$22 million, federally-backed program aims to help outsourcers in South Asia become more fluent in areas like Java programming—and the English language.

. . .

Following their training, the tech workers will be placed with outsourcing vendors in the region that provide offshore IT and business services to American companies looking to take advantage of the Asian subcontinent's low labor costs.

Under director Rajiv Shah, the United States Agency for International Development will partner with private outsourcers in Sri Lanka to teach workers there advanced IT skills like Enterprise Java (Java EE) programming, as well as skills in business process outsourcing and call center support. USAID will also help the trainees brush up on their English language proficiency.

"To help fill workforce gaps in BPO and IT, USAID is teaming up with leading BPO and IT/English language training companies to establish professional IT and English skills development training centers," the U.S. Embassy in Colombo, Sri Lanka, said in a statement posted Friday on its Web site.

Read more: http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/integratio...

[musette_sf]

15. THERE ARE NO "WORKFORCE GAPS"

There is unmitigated greed.

There is a severe paucity of ethics.

There is a concerted effort to decimate the middle class.

[Demeter]

19. And how about shoes, textiles, electronics?

Our daily needs must be made here if we are to survive as a nation. End globalism and slave labor overseas.

[slay]

28. IT jobs are key! We have to stop outsourcing them

i've got an IT certificate or three and it's near impossible to compete - at least for phone help desk support - with India. :(

[golfguru]

33. The US $$ Indians earn find their way back into US goods

eventually. There is nothing one can buy in India with US dollars.
Only local currency is used for transactions in every country.
All those outsourced dollars have only one use.....buy American
products. Sometimes it may not be a direct country to country transaction.
India may buy oil from an OPEC country using American $$, who in turn will use
the dollars to buy American products. Trade is good for everybody.
Trade makes possible availability of goods & services at lowest cost.

[slay]

36. Yeah outsourcing its great til it happens to you - desire for cheap shit

above all else leads to a society ruled by mega corporations who buy governments who sell out their citizens and ship their jobs overseas. glad you can buy your cheap shit. nice to see which side you're on as well "golfguru". there's a price to be paid for everything and many times it's in human suffering, not money.

what are we selling them anyways here? shit we bought from china? unreal.

and what - it's illegal to get paid in their own currency? i don't think you're making sense.

[golfguru]

37. 100% correct

If I was outsourced of course I would be pissed, depressed and disillusioned.

But I am a realist. I got to play with the cards dealt to me. I can whine and cry
but that won't do anything to improve my situation. There are 100 million Americans
making very good living TODAY in America. I will do every effort to join their ranks.

Keep in mind majority of successful people in this country are self-made. There are
opportunities here that few other countries can match.

Oh and by the way USA STILL is the largest manufacturer in the world, soon to be
overtaken by China.

[slay]

38. Our "opportunities" are destroying the planet

and generally involve LOTS of corruption. i'll fight to change the system altogether - and hopefully save the planet for future generations that aren't as selfish and greedy and will understand how to live in a sustainable way - in harmony - with the planet and their environment. being rich isn't worth it if it costs us our home and humanity. if we don't start by protecting our own citizens from the greed of giant corporations and all the negative consequences, who will? nobody.

[golfguru]

42. Now that is a completely different issue.

This thread is about outsourcing?

[slay]

55. "Instead of giving tax breaks to corporations that want to ship jobs overseas,

we want to give tax breaks to companies that are investing right here in the United States of America."

Quoted from the OP. So yes, it is about outsourcing as well as investing in America.

[OhioChick]

43. India sending 30 Billion home

India sending 30 Billion home

In India, these decisions have raised hackles. India's IT sector is
seen as a source of national pride - an area where Indians see
themselves as competing successfully on the global scene. Moreover,
the millions of Indians living overseas send back more than $30
billion a year in remittances, making up 3 per cent of the country's
GDP, according to estimates by the International Labor Organization.

http://www.rediff.com/money/2009/mar/07bpo-worries-grow-about-obamas-outsourcing-policies.htm

[slay]

56. Thanks for posting this OhioChick

i was wondering why "golfguru" had such a foreign pro-corporate stance which never really made sense even in his replies, and I still wonder that - especially when it hurts so many Americans.

[OhioChick]

66. I think what you're wondering is quite obvious n/t

[Tansy_Gold]

58. Just to hammer the point home -- that's $30 Billion not spent here

Thirty Billion Dollars being

Sent to India

to be spent

In the Indian economy.



Now, unless India is importing a whole lot of "Made in U.S.A." products, I'd say this is a negative number on our economy.



TG

[whathehell]

64. Yes, and even if they were...What are they going to BUY here if

no one MAKES things anymore?

More to the point, perhaps, what are WE going to buy if we have no jobs?!

[OhioChick]

67. You're absolutely right n/t

[bitchkitty]

76. blah blah blah blah

That's a huge pile of steaming crap.

Do you work? If so, mind if I take your job, or lower your pay down to $8/hour?

[ibegurpard]

77. what American goods are Indians buying

when they aren't getting paid enough to afford them?

[whathehell]

63. Precisely....I just received a "thank you" from him for sending him a birthday greeting,.

I "replied" by sending him a cut and paste of his "USAID to train foreign workers in Sri Lanka" article which was preceeded by this message:

Mr. President,

When I read news like this I not only wonder why I signed your birthday card,
I wonder why I voted for you at all....Why would you "offshore" jobs that Americans
need, during an economic crisis?

[boppers]

71. We have a *huge* gap in qualified people for IT jobs from what I've seen.

Too many mouse-pushers, not enough programmers, and most programmers barely know one language, let alone 4 or 5. That being said, we do have a surplus of folks who think that an MCSE is adequate qualification for an IT career, rather than a help-desk job.... put another way: We have too many fry-cooks, and not enough sous chefs.

[ibegurpard]

2. punish outsourcers?

reform, gutt, or outright do away with NAFTA?
get rid of guest workers?
those are a few things I can think of.
I won't hold my breath.

[Kringle]

9. outsourcer-in-chief --> Obama

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4490270&mesg_id=4490270

[KoKo]

14. Definitely.... He pushes MATH & SCIENCE for CHARTER SCHOOLS but Trashes HIS OWN!

Robbien Donating Member (1000+ posts) Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Tue Aug-03-10 07:54 PM
Original message
U.S. To Train 3,000 Offshore IT Workers

Source: Information Week

$22 million, federally-backed program aims to help outsourcers in South Asia become more fluent in areas like Java programming—and the English language.

. . .

Following their training, the tech workers will be placed with outsourcing vendors in the region that provide offshore IT and business services to American companies looking to take advantage of the Asian subcontinent's low labor costs.

Under director Rajiv Shah, the United States Agency for International Development will partner with private outsourcers in Sri Lanka to teach workers there advanced IT skills like Enterprise Java (Java EE) programming, as well as skills in business process outsourcing and call center support. USAID will also help the trainees brush up on their English language proficiency.

"To help fill workforce gaps in BPO and IT, USAID is teaming up with leading BPO and IT/English language training companies to establish professional IT and English skills development training centers," the U.S. Embassy in Colombo, Sri Lanka, said in a statement posted Friday on its Web site.

Read more: http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/integratio...

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

3. AMEN! We need american dollars staying in america and more exports.

Jobs that put food on the table are nice.
Jobs that put food on the table and add value to the GDP are better.

Mr. President, fire up the factories! :D

[OnlinePoker]

8. When what you produce is more expensive than what can be produced elsewhere...

...who are you going to export to? You can't force other countries to buy your goods.

[ibegurpard]

10. stop importing cheaper goods?

yeah, yeah i know...that would involve putting the interests of the people of the country you govern ahead of the corporate balance sheet.
Guess what? Real life doesn't fit neatly into the Economics 101 model.

[OnlinePoker]

29. I was answering the statement about needing more exports.

Great in theory but if I'm in Indonesia and I can buy something from China at 25% what I would be charged for the same item from the States...guess which one I'm choosing. Companies like Walmart force U.S. manufacturers to go outside of the country because they dictate how much they're willing to pay for something and the companies better meet that price or Walmart will find someone who will. It doesn't help that the well paid manufacturing jobs disappear and their formerly middle class workers have no choice but to buy cheaper products Walmart imported that were once produced at home. It's a vicious cycle and I honestly don't know how it will ever be fixed. Slap tariffs on foreign made goods and those do the same on those items the U.S. exports choking trade and turning this vicious recession into a full blown depression.

[Donnachaidh]

6. really? then explain this ---

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4490270

[ibegurpard]

7. hence why i'm not holding my breath

[Amonester]

72. maybe his overpaid Bubble Makers in the WH always make sure...

he will never even KNOW about it. :shrug:

otherwise, the speech he gave doesn't make much sense at all :wow:

[KoKo]

11. Ummmm..."Mr. President" how does your Message Square with THIS:

Robbien Donating Member (1000+ posts) Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Tue Aug-03-10 07:54 PM
Original message
U.S. To Train 3,000 Offshore IT Workers

Source: Information Week

$22 million, federally-backed program aims to help outsourcers in South Asia become more fluent in areas like Java programming—and the English language.

. . .

Following their training, the tech workers will be placed with outsourcing vendors in the region that provide offshore IT and business services to American companies looking to take advantage of the Asian subcontinent's low labor costs.

Under director Rajiv Shah, the United States Agency for International Development will partner with private outsourcers in Sri Lanka to teach workers there advanced IT skills like Enterprise Java (Java EE) programming, as well as skills in business process outsourcing and call center support. USAID will also help the trainees brush up on their English language proficiency.

"To help fill workforce gaps in BPO and IT, USAID is teaming up with leading BPO and IT/English language training companies to establish professional IT and English skills development training centers," the U.S. Embassy in Colombo, Sri Lanka, said in a statement posted Friday on its Web site.

Read more: http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/integratio...

[izquierdista]

16. Don't look now...

But that "heart" is three (or more) sizes too small, thanks to all the Offshoring Grinches.

[MannyGoldstein]

17. Not without tarriffs

There is no way on Earth that the typical American worker can compete with $2-a-day labor from microwage nations.

Unless Obama's gonna push for tarriffs, he's ignorant or full of shit.

[zogofzorkon]

25. Actually they'll probably push for $2. a day wages here

[Demeter]

18. Oh Really!

Does this mean you've recanted, Mr. President? Are you going to do something so that the jobs come back? Or at least, stop the job hemorrhaging?

Or are you bullshitting the unions so they will elect Rahm's Blue Dog bastards?

Put your money and power where your mouth is. And that doesn't mean selling more armaments!

[Tansy_Gold]

26. +14,000,000 or whatever the number of jobs lost is. n/t

[Flatulo]

20. This is a joke, and not even a funny one...

All the major solar wafer/panel companies are tripping over each other to move their manufacturing to China. BP Solar just shut down their Maryland manufacturing facility and fled to China. Evergreen Solar is moving their manufacturing operation to Wuhan as we speak. The Chinese government just gave Yingli $3.8b to build the largest solar panel manufacturing operation on the planet. The Chinese already dominate solar so thoroughly that the American presense is not even a blip.

Wind? The largest turbine producer is a Danish company, Vestas.

Unless and until this government gets serious about subsidizing American alternative energy jobs, this is just rhetoric.

Carry on.

[Triana]

21. Uh-huh. . . He says THAT - but does THIS . . .

http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/integration/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=226500202

Pay no attention to the WORDS. Watch the ACTIONS...

[Kumbricia]

22. Hypocrite!

What a hypocrite. USAID is in partnership with corporate tech firms to do the exact opposite - train and employee people in Sri Lanka while cutting off funding for job training programs in the U.S.

[AmericaIsGreat]

23. So then can we pass some legislation that puts that into practice?

Because, right now, America is defined by "made in China."

[scentopine]

24. centrists are playing rope-a-dope

while fortune 500 rapes us. This is just more centrist bullshit. Tomorrow they will stab us in the back. Again.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4490270&mesg_id=4490270

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4335782

much much much more where this comes from. Just because we have PhD flipping burgers, it is not a recovery.

If only centrists would downsize and outsource themselves, now that would be forward progress.

Come to think of it, I bet there are a few people in India who can post centrist/right wing snarks for a lot less than we are paying here.

[Dappleganger]

27. I really want to believe him.

But there is still a huge sucking sound of jobs and support going outside the US to take it seriously. Even the stimulus plan with energy-related jobs didn't stipulate that everything needed to stay in the US, BY the US.

[Vinnie From Indy]

30. Obama added "I love cute puppies, Grandma's apple pie and clean air!"

I weep for America!

Obama has done nothing bold or substantial for working Americans. The fact is that in many areas the Obama Admin. has made life much more difficult for the average American. It seems clear that serving powerful corporate interests in different industries is the primary consideration of this Admin. Obama's words could have been written by any writer on a Simpsons or Family Guy episode.

[Psephos]

34. Meanwhile, Mrs. O booked 60 rooms in one of the world's poshest hotels - in Spain.

Buying American is for the little people.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1300240/Michelle-Obama-jets-Marbella-5-star-holiday-daughter-Sasha.html

She is on a four-day visit and will be staying at the five-star Villa Padierna, rated as one of the world's top 30 hotels, with 40 friends. The party has reserved 60 rooms.

The 129-room establishment, an Italian palazzo-style building, is nestled in the hills of Benahavis overlooking the millionaires' playground of Marbella and about three miles from the coast.

Rooms start at £210-a-night and stretch to around £4,100 for a villa with 24-hour butler service and private pool and garden.

The Villa Padierna has five restaurants, a spa and access to three 18-hole golf courses.

Local officials have had roads re-paved and gardens tidied-up. New street lights have also been installed.

I can think of a few resort spots in the US that could have used that money.

[karynnj]

48. It is partially a diplomatic trip

The area she is in is gorgeous and the Alhambra that she is visiting is an incredible historical site. Spain is an ally and strengthening those ties is important.

[Psephos]

49. “We are going to keep fighting for an economy that works for everybody, not just a privileged few.”

That's from the article.

This kind of conspicuous consumption for the leaders does not sit well with unemployed people watching CNN at home.

She should have picked somewhere in the US.

[karynnj]

60. Would you then have complained that it was an upper class resort

as people did with the Maine trip? Which are ok - is Martha's Vineyard OK? What about Hilton Head?

I suspect that any place that can provide the security WILL be an expensive location. I doubt that this really is conspicuous consumption for the Obamas - I would bet that the government is paying only for the security people with Obama. I know that middle class people DO go to the Costa del Sol, which has an incredible number of time share resorts. Food and entrance fees to historical sites is cheaper than in the US.

[Psephos]

68. No, I wouldn't.

Think about it. On the day the President is urging us to buy American, his wife is doing the opposite.

It sends exactly the wrong message. Reminds me of Leona Helmsley's famous "taxes are for the little people."

[karynnj]

73. The First Lady is an ambassador who helps the US image abroad

Nearly all First Ladies did this. Laura Bush was one of the few who really didn't. The First Family has a diplomatic role that others don't. Do you remember the 2008 primary - the sole basis of Hillary Clinton's claim to foreign policy expertise was her extensive travels as First Lady.

Now, as to whether Michelle's trip will help, oddly I actually know that it could. My husband and I just returned from a week's vacation 10 miles from Marbella - shared with a long time British friend. (Before you attack that - it was an RCI trade (time share) made more than 2 years ago.) The Spanish media was very excited about it and the lead up coverage was very friendly. A big deal was made of the fact that she will (some time during the trip) by received by the Spanish King and Queen.

The fact is that they have had a few recent vacations within the US.

[Psephos]

75. It's sure not helping her image here. The tab for this vacation will be 1/3 million dollars.

I don't care for this source, but it's making the rounds, so make of it what you will.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1300852/Spanish-police-close-public-beach-Michelle-Obamas-250k-Spanish-holiday.html

This is just handing free ammo to repugs. I realize we have a difference of opinion on propriety here, so I am going to rest with this post.

[earth mom]

62. Are U.S. Taxpayers paying for that trip?! If so...

:grr:

[Psephos]

70. She flew on Air Force Two.

That costs $11,351 per hour to fly.

Several dozen Secret Service security officers and personnel, plus their equipment, including cars. White House First Lady staffers, communications aides, vetters...all on government dime.

Carbon footprint out the wazoo, too.

Meanwhile, the private money that's being spent is being spent overseas instead of at home, as the President urged yesterday.

This isn't my idea of leadership by example.

[earth mom]

74. I can understand Secret Service and all that, but rooms, food, etc should NOT be paid by taxpayers!

Not for a mother/daughter vacation-that is a personal expense!

Meanwhile people go without health care and are living in tents.

[Overseas]

35. K&R! Yes please! //nt

[AnneD]

39. Campaign away Obama....

but don't expect much if any support from the teacher's unions. We still have to remove the knife from our back from all the support you have been giving us. Go sell crazy elsewhere.

"If presidents as diametrically opposed as George W Bush and Barack Obama produce the same political environment, is there any hope for change?" Jason Kelly Financially Stupid People Are Everywhere (which gets my two thumbs up). The only thing that will make me reconsider is appointing Elizabeth Warren AND BACKING HER.

[Nite Owl]

40. More talk

no action. He is outright lying in fact. He has done nothing to stop the flow of jobs to China, India etc. and in fact is seeking to increase them. I don't know how any union can back him.

"Instead of giving tax breaks to corporations that want to ship jobs overseas, we want to give tax breaks to companies that are investing right here in the United States of America."
But is he going to take away their incentives, tax breaks if they ship jobs overseas? Gotta read between the lines.

[Lorien]

45. Exactly. nt

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

41. ...

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[Lorien]

44. Words mean less than nothing. Actions are what matter. nt

[superconnected]

46. Ah the hypocrisy. Mr. I LIED ABOUT CHANGE...

Sure Obama, just don't do anything to penalize those companies using foreign labor here - H1B's, or closing plants and opening them overseas using overseas labor, yet selling their products here. Even European countries have laws and high tariffs for that crap. Sure, continue to not address the WTO world rape problem. This is the butt of the problem O, you say shit and DO NOTHING TO FIX IT. You are part of the problem when it comes to the wire.

His hypocrisy is mind numbing. He shouldn't be toting this crap to our face when he does the opposite.

[pampango]

50. European countries have no tariffs with each other (a 27-country super-NAFTA if you will)

nor do they have any immigration restrictions with each other.

The EU belongs to the WTO and has the same tariff structure as the US and is currently negotiating a "free trade" agreement with India, something no one in the US is even suggesting.

[Flatulo]

52. But they do have tariffs in place against China, which is the major job sink. nt

[pampango]

53. They have the tariffs that they agreed to have under WTO rules. The EU and China belong to the WTO

so the EU can't just make up tariffs against China or against the US or anyone else. Under the rules the EU has the same tariffs on Chinese imports that we have.

[superconnected]

65. I didn't realize European countries had no tarrifs with each others.

I'll give you an example of Germanys requrements for work permit:

To qualify for a German work permit (work visa), the basic requirements for the employee and the German company are as follows:

* The potential employee has to be employed on equal terms as a German employee.
* German or other European nationals are not available to fill the position.
* Usually the employee must have a university degree or comparable qualification. For some positions there are special requirements.
* The German company must be registered at the Labor Authorities in Germany and apply for a Corporate Registration Number.

From Here
http://www.workpermit.com/germany/requirements_for_work_permit.htm

--------------

The US has 60 kinds of work visas. too much documentation to go through. Only employers with 15% or more people on work visa are required to even Advertise in the United States first for the job - it doesn't say for how long or if there is a requirement for how long they should advertise.

http://www.workpermit.com/us/us.htm

[superconnected]

47. .

[mzmolly]

51. Phew!

I hope we're able to get something constructive done in this regard.

[bvar22]

54. Growing disparity between what Obama says, and what Obama does.

There is NO such thing as "Free Trade".
There is NO such thing as a "Free Market".
There is NO Giant "Invisible Hand".
The RICH made that shit up and used smooth talking politicians to sell it to a gullible America.

Capital will ALWAYS be able to outrun Human Rights, Worker Protections, and Environmental Protections.
QED



What do all of the following statements have in common?

"I did not have sex with that woman."

"I did not campaign on a Public Option."

"Free Trade is good for the American Worker."

[slay]

57. +1

i, and many others, have noticed that too. it's been a Republican tactic for years - i hate to see Obama thinking he can continue to fool progressives with his words - when his actions so obviously betray him, and us.

[Vinca]

59. I sure hope this is more than just so much chatter meant to energize the base.

You need to be able to walk into a store in this country and buy something . . . ANYTHING . . . made in America.

[earth mom]

61. Is that before or after the WH allows BP to destroy the entire gulf coast region?

I'll believe this when I see it.

And hire Elizabeth Warren if you really mean it.

[IndianaGreen]

69. Repeal NAFTA and re-industrialize the nation with a massive public works program

Bring back the jobs that were shipped overseas!