Time for Changes?

It's all well and good for a politician to say the words "companies need to reinvent themselves to stay competitive", but it rings hollow coming from an individual who called the private sector the enemy and who has inflicted a huge burden on private corporations, especially small businesses, for the sake of providing healthcare to all (whether they want it or not). Support for tax increases on the job providers adds to uncertainty in the market place.

The result is less innovation.

The emphasis on green energy means that Obama has decided to force companies in the green direction, not allow the market place to do so. Well to be fair, the market place will dictate it, but it's a rigged market, not a free market.

Does anyone really listen to Obama? Nothing he says makes any since, all he does is lie and try and bully the American people into doing what he wants them to do.

I can see wanting businesses to go green, but that should be their choice, not forced upon them when in time they'll go green on their own. This is just another failing plan like the health care bill that most people don't want anyway and those who do probably don't understand it. All the billions of dollars Obama has wasted since he's been in office could have paid for a lot of health care for low income families. I think Obama needs to practice a little green himself and quit wasting our hard earned money on failing projects. Is that it he thinks going green is the color of money?

As for our company, we do our best to be green. We try and run everything lean and just in time, but we do all of this on our own and don't need someone telling us we have to do it.

I love the sound of gnashing teeth. Where's me bag of popcorn? Yum. Six more years.

"The emphasis on green energy means that Obama has decided to force companies in the green direction, not allow the market place to do so. Well to be fair, the market place will dictate it, but it's a rigged market, not a free market." I agree totally. The prez needs to set the stage and let industries follow the path. Restrictions only create fear in the market, followed up with conservative decision making, downsizing, etc... I also hope to see the focus move off green tech and instead focus on alternatives to oil. The industry will likely shift toward green on it's own.

Hi JB,

You are right! How manufacturers can change things when the buyers don't want changes and cannot afford to buy at higher price the more expensive to make items?

Again, I maintain the following business principle: SELL, DESIGN, and BUILD and only in that order. When an item is made in China or other developing countries for low selling price, we cannot talk about greener and safer.

Small businesses are able to develop new and greener products because their niche businesses.

We have to design a new ways to influence customers for new and changed products, Gil.

To me it is unfathomable that people don't call his bluff. We live in a capitalistic society, capitalists are what created this society and the people with the socialist tendancies are calling for changes that will destroy the capitalist's society. when the capitalists are gone, who is going to the pay taxes thatwill sustain the socialist policies? And green? that always includes an upcharge that we don't mind paying because it is "saving " the environment. This poor boob has no idea how economics work- can't seem to grasp the idea that policies driven be politicians are not free market economics

Hi another Guest,

Capitalism based on SELL something to people who can pay for it, isn't it? Be greener or not is another question: Do we have customers to pay for that green stuff? Changes will be made when we can sell those green products or ideas! Never before! Again, I just repeat: SELL, DESIGN, and BUILD and only in that order. It is established by the capitalist system and it's worked, it's working now, and will work anytime! Concerning the environment is the same. When people buy environmentally safe products the manufacturers will supply them. I, personally, produce environmentally and applicator safe waterbourne stains and sealer with close to "0" VOC in small volume. Many big, large coatings manufacturers making flammable and toxic solvent based products as I make. They have the power to SELL lots of these pollutent, flammable, and toxic products and I don't have the money or instead the power to convert buyers to my products.

Yes, politicians and policies must be do the SELL process, and others can follow with DESIGN and BUILD because customers cannot find solvent on the market, Gil.

Major corporations, according to a variety of studies done by Forbes, et al, generally survive less than a century on top of the heap. 100 years ago, there was no GM, Ford was just getting it's feet wet, Standard Oil was broken up and no longer exists in its former glory, Exxon, Mobile, BP, Amoco- none of these existed. The top corporations of today- IBM, Apple, Microsoft, and the likes did not exist 100 years ago. 50 years ago, the steel industry was still a big deal in the US- where is it today? Alcoa was just getting started 100 years ago (more or less). What about ship building? Used to be a pretty big business. 100 years ago, there were no airlines, no aircraft manufacuters- railroads ruled the transportation industry. Where are they today? Where is Westinghouse? AT &T?

The moral is, re-invent all you want, it doesn't matter. You, corporation, have a life expectancy of about 100 years. If you are approaching that age, go quietly into the night. Don't call on US taxpayers to keep you on life support...

Interesting that you mention GE. Here's a pretty good summation of an extremely cozy relationship between the Obama administration and GE............It makes Cheney's relationship with Halliburton look puny by comparison. Trust these people? Not me.

https://romanticpoet.wordpress.com/tag/ge-obama-connections/

PS- If you get a little security box on the page just click no, it's a safe site.

Yeah I saw the Prez's speech held within the Large Steam Turbine Building at the General Electric complex in Schenectady NY. I grew up about 6 miles north of the plant and know that building very well. My late paternal Grandfather, who retired from GE after 45-years of service, used to work in that very building as a machinist, then shift foreman, and later a Union Shop Steward. Additionally, my Uncle Bob, a white collar GE employee with over 40-years service, was in charge of the steam turbine shipments being made throughout the world, where he'd supervise how these massive and extremely heavy steam turbines had to be properly rigged and secured on both rail cars and sea going vessels for safe transport. One one wanted to loose a steam turbine overboard that cost several hundred Millions of Dollars. Actually my Uncle knew more than the Longshoreman how to rig these machines properly. He knew the weight distributions, hard points, and how to properly hoist them too. Of course this led to many an argument between my Uncle and the rigging crews, including the crane operators. That was a huge responsibility, and he was the only one in GE's employ that knew how it had to be done to get the turbines to the receiving client, usually a power generating corporation. As a kid in the 1960's and early 70's my mom would drag us along to visit Grandpa at work. She did this many times. While there we'd always run into Uncle Bob. It was truly amazing the huge number of blades inside those turbines, with blades in different collars (for a better word?) being entirely different from the blades before and after. Even more amazing was that each blade consisted of multiple compound curves that had to be milled by the machinists, which was an equally amazing feat given that the milling machines weren't controlled by computers like they are done presently.

Anyways, sorry for going off on a tangent, but it helps to know some of the history and how it relates to the remainder of my post. I'm not here to bash Obama, but watching that speech of his at GE I found myself grinding my teeth too much. The speech was lip service to the GE employees, the American people, and the American Corporations. And I don't think the Rank & File GE employees present there in the LST Building were bowled over either. they have a right to be jaded. Actually cynical is a better word for it. At one time in it's heyday, back in the 1950's the Schenectady GE plant employed nearly 50,000 workers. It was one of the largest industrial plants in the world. And just down Erie Blvd. opposite of the GE plant was ALCO, one of the largest manufacturer's of steam locomotives and later diesel locomotives. It closed sometime in the 1970's I believe.

Here was the Prez being introduced by the outgoing head of GE, who was poised to join Omama's Merry Little Band of robbers fairly soon. His predecessor, a certain robber himself, Jack Welsh, has over the years literally gutted the Schenectady GE complex of employees through massive layoffs one after another, having moved much of the Schenectady operations down south or overseas, and did little to save those jobs. What compounded this mass exodus was the greed of the Unions at GE, as well as New York State progressively increasing the tax burden on Corporations, one of the THE highest in the US. My Uncle Bob was one of those laid off in the late 90's, having been forced to Retire at age 61. Now GE employs slightly more than 4,000 spread out throughout the Capital District region of NYS, not solely at the Schenectady plant complex. The lost jobs will never come back to Schenecady, which is a hollow shell of it's former self. Yeah, those GE employees present at the speech don't believe what politicians and GE CEO's/Presidents have to say much anymore. And you know what really stinks in Denmark is that over the years GE repeatedly has not paid one Red Cent in Federal Taxes due to tax code loop holes and the Bean Counting games being played within the corporate accounting offices.

Once the politicians and corporate heads/boards stop playing their games in addition to lessening the tax burdens I believe that corporations will not be investing in substantial R&D, hiring more employees and expanding their businesses, and that includes Green initiatives.

Adding my 2 Cents, for what it's worth....

We have the same problems in the UK, our prime minister tells everyone to work harder and longer, so that he can pay off the UK's depts, while at the same time allows most new jobs to be taken by foreign workers, mostly from the EU! Is it any wonder that we don't bother to listen to him or any other politician, whatever they/he says. So yes, now is the time for a change, and it won't be easy, but a lot of people here are just waiting for the chance, the revolution is coming!

Yea, Our company is reinventing itself, Their moving most of our operations to Mexico! Now that's inovation! And were all feeling a little green as well.

Jim C

Hi Jim, We have the same problem here in England, a lot of jobs have gone to India or some other far eastern country, and the workers here are left to rot!

Xanasax

Hi Jim,

Don't forget that when we buy Mexican products, we buy greener products. Why? One third of the Mexican flag is GREEN, isn't it?

It's time for changes!!! We invented many things during the last few decades, and send the paperworks to outside in the third world countries and let them to do what we buy for us. Henry Ford made and sold his cars in North-America. Our televisions, computers, cellphones, appliances - OK I stop - were invented by us but are made somewhere else and we just pay for them.

We have to change that in the first position. Also, we start to have more and more veggies and fruits from the other side of the Earth to. What's wrong with our agriculture and livestock? First, return to make here what we need and get greener after, Gil.