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Title: 3M chief warns Obama over business regulation~"choice between manufacturing in Canada & Mexico – which tend to be pro-business – or America.”
Source:
Financial Times
URL Source: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/bd9b4100- ... 0144feabdc0.html#axzz1F7ciNa6W
Published: Feb 27, 2011
Author: Hal Weitzman in Chicago
Post Date: 2011-02-27 21:34:15 by Happy Quanzaa
Keywords: Who is John Galt?
Views: 16364
Comments: 29
The head of one of the US’s biggest industrial groups has launched a scathing attack on Barack Obama’s attempts to repair relations with companies, dubbing him “anti-business”. Manufacturers could shift production out of the US to Canada or Mexico as a result, warned George Buckley, chief executive and chairman of 3M. “I judge people by their feet, not their mouth,” he told the Financial Times. “We know what his instincts are – they are Robin Hood-esque. He is anti-business.” The Obama administration has struck a more conciliatory tone towards business since the Democratic defeat in November’s midterm elections. Last month, the president created a jobs and competitiveness council, chaired by Jeffrey Immelt, chief executive of GE, and including chief executives such as American Express’s Kenneth Chenault, DuPont’s Ellen Kullman, Antonio Perez of Kodak and Southwest Airlines’ Gary Kelly. Mr Obama also convened a meeting this month with technology chief executives, including Steve Jobs of Apple, Google’s Eric Schmidt, Oracle’s Larry Ellison and Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook. Mr Buckley, who has run the diversified manufacturer since 2005, said: “There is a sense among companies that this is a difficult place to do business. It is about regulation, taxation, seemingly anti-business policies in Washington, attitudes towards science.” He added: “Politicians forget that business has choice. We’re not indentured servants and we will do business where it’s good and friendly. If it’s hostile, incrementally, things will slip away. We’ve got a real choice between manufacturing in Canada and Mexico – which tend to be pro-business – or America.” The 3M chief also criticised US immigration policy, saying the difficulty of obtaining visas was forcing companies to move research and development overseas. “About 68 per cent of our science PhD candidates are from outside the US,” he said. “Many want to stay here afterwards but we’re not allowed as many visas as we would like.” “We are now exporting science overseas to China, India, Germany, building labs there. There’s a good strategic reason for it, but we also have no choice – if we can’t get the people here and we’re competing with the people there, we have no choice but to do it locally.” Mr Buckley struck a gloomy note on the US economy. “The macro numbers seem to be improving but when we look at the micro numbers – at what’s going on in housing, automotive, in manufacturing in general – it’s hard to get enthusiastic about it,” he said.
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 29.
#2. To: Happy Quanzaa (#0)
I'd have to disagree with that though.
It's the predictable result of America's poor public school system which doesn't teach kids enough math or science. Go to any graduate program in math, science, computer science, and engineering in any college in America and who do you see? Asians, Indians and a few Russians. No blacks. Very few women. America competes on our technological prowess. Without smart, educated people, we can't compete. In the short term, we need to let in more people with college degrees in engineering, math, science, and computer science. Long term, we need to fix the rotten public schools. Otherwise, America is toast.
This article and the responses show why the American so called version of right wingers (I support European Christian democratic philosophies) are bankrupt. You post this article to show why 3M is right in threatening to leave the USA for China and Mexico (Canada has more regulations and socialized medicine so I think the exec just threw that country in to make it sound balanced) because of American taxes and restrictions i.e. "anti-business". This means you filthy bastards want American workers to be as poorly paid and exploited as Mexican and Chinese peasants and you want 3M to be able to pollute the water and soil with its wastes rather than dispose of it cleanly/safely. You want that. That is what you are supporting when you champion this 3M executive's statements. That's why you are filthy traitors to America and to Christian civilization as a whole. Last but not least is jwpegler rant about education. He is right, America's system of education seems to be faltering. But I bet his solution is along the lines of classic Republican BS like less taxes and less money to schools, more local control of schools, etc. In the rest of the civilized world, teachers are paid more money (in some cases more than one teacher per classroom), budgets are more than they are in America an a GDP basis, you don't have local control of schools and you have centralized educational systems with standardized curriculums. So, yes we have to fix America's school system but the so called conservative ideology would make things worse not better and no place on earth follows the school system the Republicans talk about putting in place.
When the statist Totalitarian Big Government penis you suck ejaculates it's Kool-Aid you should spit it out instead of swallowing, imho.
In other words, you filthy pig, you can't respond back to my points at all. Because you are a traitor to America supporting turning America into another China and Mexico. We patriots have the ropes for all traitors at the ready.
We patriots have the ropes for all traitors at the ready. Bring it on, you globalist Chink, Messycan, European Christian democratic, socialist, commie!
I am anti-globalist - anti free trade - pro nationalist. Why are Americans on the right wing so stupid?
(I support European Christian democratic philosophies) Nationalist + European Christian Socialist = Adolf Hitler = Nazi
Many religious Tea Partiers on Social Security would qualify as Christian socialists, and since many seem to be more of the nationalist persuasion than globalists, they are now Nazis too, according to your personal formula? That's quite a paint brush you have.
They didn't volunteer to pay socialist security, they were forced to. Godwinson chose to embrace the national-socialist Nazi model.
Like I wrote, the majority of the so called conservatives on here sound like robotic kooks. Their replies are predictable.
There are no replies to Comment # 29. End Trace Mode for Comment # 29.
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/LatestThe 3M chief also criticised US immigration policy, saying the difficulty of obtaining visas was forcing companies to move research and development overseas. “About 68 per cent of our science PhD candidates are from outside the US,” he said. “Many want to stay here afterwards but we’re not allowed as many visas as we would like.”
#11. To: A K A Stone (#2)
#13. To: jwpegler, A K A Stone, Happy Quanzaa (#11)
(Edited)
#14. To: Godwinson (#13)
#15. To: Happy Quanzaa (#14)
#16. To: Godwinson (#15)
you are a traitor to America supporting turning America into another China and Mexico.
#17. To: hondo68 (#16)
Bring it on, you globalist Chink, Messycan, European Christian democratic, socialist, commie!
#26. To: Godwinson, jwpegler, A K A Stone, Happy Quanzaa (#17)
- pro nationalist.
#27. To: hondo68 (#26)
(Edited)
Nationalist + European Christian Socialist = Adolf Hitler = Nazi
#28. To: Rek, Godwinson (#27)
religious Tea Partiers on Social Security would qualify as Christian socialists
#29. To: Rek, hondo68 (#28)
(Edited)
Replies to Comment # 29.
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